Baron was an admiral of the early modern

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 ...

, known primarily for his role in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

Biography

Tsuboi Kōzō was born as Hara Kōzō, the second son of a doctor in what is now part of Hōfu, Yamaguchi, and was adopted into the Tsuboi family as a child. As a

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

''samurai'' he took part in the defense of the city during the bombardment of Shimonoseki by European warships from September 5 to 8, 1864. Witnessing firsthand the firepower and devastation caused by a relatively few Western warships, Tsuboi became convinced Japan must also obtain this weaponry to survive. He enlisted in the Chōshū domain navy later that year and served aboard the '' Kigai-maru,'' while studying English and navigation at the Chōshū Naval School. Serving on five Chōshū domain ships between 1866 and 1868, Tsuboi assisted in transporting imperial soldiers on the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...

during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

against the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, and was later officially commissioned a

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 ...

in the newly established

in 1870, and assigned to the

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. They were popularized in the mid-19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine and the transition of fleets to this new technology. The sailing sloop The British sloop in the Age o ...

. He became

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the

ironclad warship An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship protected by steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The firs ...

in 1871. That same year he received training on board the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the American

Asiatic Squadron The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...

and was sponsored by Admiral John Rodgers to attend

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

from April 1872 until July 1874. Returning to Japan in 1874, Tsuboi was promoted to lieutenant commander. His first command was as captain of the '' Dai Ichi Teibō'' from August 3, 1874. From 1875 through 1879, he surprised warship construction at the

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate govern ...

; however, he was injured in an accident in August 1878 which required two months hospitalization. On his return to active status in February 1879, he served as commander of various ships, including the paddle corvette , gunboat , corvette and corvette , and various shore posts until 1889 (including Deputy Director of the

Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Department The was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of n ...

. He returned to sea as captain the cruiser from April 1889 to September 1890, serving simultaneously as chief-of-staff of the

Readiness Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the main combat fleet of the Japanese Navy and formed the core of a wartime Combined Fleet organization. It was created from the Standing Small-Fleet in 1889. It was split into the 1st Fle ...

. Promoted to

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 ...

from September 1890, Tsuboi was commander of the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

to December 1892, commandant of the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo, in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima, in 1888. Students ...

from 1892 to 1893, and commandant of the Naval Staff College from 1893 to 1894. In command of the Readiness Fleet during the

, Tsuboi was at the

Battle of Pungdo The Battle of Pungdo (Japanese: ) was the first naval battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 25 July 1894 off Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, between cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and components of the Chinese Beiyang F ...

in command of the , and later won distinction at the

Battle of the Yalu The Battle of the Yalu River ( zh, t=黃海海戰, s=黄海海战, p=Huáng Hǎi Hǎizhàn; ; ) was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, and took place on 17 September 1894, the day after the Japanese victory at the lan ...

on September 17, 1894, where (as commander of the Flying Squadron), he displayed innovative tactics and aggressive maneuvers against the Chinese

Beiyang Fleet The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the Imperial Chinese Navy#Fleets, four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hong ...

. A national hero following the war, Tsuboi was ennobled with the title of ''danshaku'' (

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

) under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system on August 20, 1895, and promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

the following year. In 1896 he was made Commander in Chief of the Readiness Fleet, and in 1897, Commander of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1898. His grave is at the temple of Zuisho-ji, in Shirogane-dai, Tokyo.

References

Books

* * * * Volpicelli, Zenone. ''The China-Japan War'', London, 1896.

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuboi, Kozo 1843 births 1898 deaths People from Chōshū Domain Mōri retainers Military personnel from Yamaguchi Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Columbia University alumni Samurai Kazoku People of the Boshin War Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War People of the Meiji era Deaths from cancer in Japan