Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, was the son of Shimazu Tadayoshi and 30th head of the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contr ...

. He was a naval officer, and

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. His wife was the daughter of

Tokudaiji Sanetsune Prince was a Japanese courtier who served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan from 1891 to 1912 during the Meiji era. Life Tokudaiji Sanetsune was born to a branch of the Fujiwara court nobility in Kyoto. His father was Tokudaiji Ki ...

Biography

A native of

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

, Shimazu was largely raised at the Shimazu residence in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, where he attended the Gakushuin Peers’ School. In 1904, he entered the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, and graduated from the 35th class ranked 79th out of 172 cadets. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

duty aboard the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

and

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

. After being commissioned as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, he was assigned to the cruisers and . Shimazu returned to specialized weaponry schools and became a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

and

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. ...

expert. As a sub-lieutenant, he served on the battleship and again on ''Katori''. From 1911-1913, he left active service to assume his seat in the House of Peers, returning in December 1914 to the battleship after having completed

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

and advanced gunnery training. As

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, he served aboard the and during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but saw no combat. After graduation from the Japanese

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in December 1920, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. He went

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at his own expense from December 1921 to 1923. On his return, he was appointed to the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff and became an instructor at the Naval War College. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in December 1924. Shimazu was then appointed as

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to England from December 1928 to December 1930. While in England, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. After his return to Japan, Shimazu served on the Navy General Staff, and was promoted to

on 15 November 1935. He retired from active service a month later, on 15 December 1935. After retirement, he served in an advisory capacity to the Gakushuin. During the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, his palace in Tokyo (which had been designed by Josiah Conder in 1915), was seized by the American occupation forces, and is now the main hall for Seisen University. In the postwar era, he was involved in a number of financial scandals, notably with regards to the Shimazu Kosan Company. He was forced to sell off most of his inheritance to make ends meet, including the Shimazu clan archives, which went to

Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. He died in 1968 at the age of 81.

References

External links

* *https://www.senganen.jp/en/ Sengan-en, house and gardens where Shimazu Tadashige lived as a child. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimazu, Tadashige Imperial Japanese Navy admirals 1886 births 1968 deaths People from Kagoshima Kazoku Shimazu clan Members of the House of Peers (Japan) 19th-century Japanese people 20th-century Japanese people