- Kataoka Shichirō
Infobox Military Person
name=Baron Kataoka Shichirō
lived=12 January 1854 -11 January 1920
placeofbirth=Kagoshima , Satsuma,Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo ,Japan
caption= Japanese Admiral Kataoka Shichirō
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1871 - 1918
rank=Admiral
commands=corvette "Kongō", cruiser "Naniwa"
IJN Third Fleet
IJN First Fleet
unit=
battles=First Sino-Japanese War
oConquest of TaiwanRusso-Japanese War
oBattle of the Yellow Sea
oBattle of Tsushima
oSakhalin Expedition
awards=
family=
laterwork=Baron nihongo|Kataoka Shichirō|片岡七郎|Kataoka Shichirō|extra=
12 January 1854 –11 January 1920 was an early admiral of theImperial Japanese Navy .Biography
Early career
Born to a "
samurai " family in theSatsuma domain (present dayKagoshima prefecture ), Kataoka entered the 3rd class of theImperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1871, and served as amidshipman on the "Tsukuba".Kataoka, accompanied
Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu as an exchange student toGermany . He became fluent in German, French and English during his 18 months abroad and graduated with the top honors in his class. He later trained with future AdmiralYamamoto Gonnohyoe onboard the German ships "Vineta" and "Leipzig" from 1877 to 1878.Serving as a
lieutenant in various fleet posts from 1881 to 1886, his first command was that of the "Tenryū" on20 June 1882 . Kataoka also served as an instructor for two years at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy before returning to Germany in 1889 for advanced studies. Following the completion of his studies, Kataoka was assigned toBerlin ,Germany as anaval attaché , with his primary duties as providing assistance toPrince Higashifushimi Yorihito andPrince Yamashina Kikumaro during their travels inEurope . He was recalled to Japan at the start of theFirst Sino-Japanese War in 1894.First Sino-Japanese War
Appointed to the
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff during the early months of the war, Kataoka was soon placed in combat command of the armored corvette "Kongō" and later of thecruiser "Naniwa" during thePescadores expedition and conquest ofTaiwan between late 1894 and early 1895.Following the war, Kataoka served on a number of various fleet and shore posts and was promoted to
rear admiral in 1899, and latervice admiral in 1903. He turned down a posting asResident-General of Korea and also turned down a posting asGovernor-General of Taiwan , stating that as a navy man, he did not have the ability to handle things on land. In reality, he had no interest in politics at all.Russo-Japanese War
During the opening months of the
Russo-Japanese War , Kataoka was placed in command of theIJN 3rd Fleet , a collection of antiquated ships nicknamed the "Funny Fleet". Despite the motley assortment of obsolete ships, Kataoka won distinction commanding the fifth and sixth battle divisions from thecruiser "Nisshin" during theBattle of the Yellow Sea and later from the cruiser "Itsukushima" during theBattle of Tsushima . He also led the naval expedition to seizeSakhalin prior to the conclusion of theTreaty of Portsmouth .A year after the war, Kataoka became chief of the Navy Ministry's Department of Ships.
In 1907, Kataoka was elevated to the title of "danshaku" (
baron ) under the "kazoku " peerage system, and was promoted to fulladmiral and madecommander-in-chief of theIJN 1st Fleet in 1910, before being placed on the reserve list the following year.Kataoka lived in retirement until his death in 1920. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery in
Tokyo .References
Books
*cite book
last = Dupuy
first = Trevor N.
year = 1992
title = Encyclopedia of Military Biography
publisher = I B Tauris & Co Ltd
location =
id = ISBN 1-85043-569-3
*cite book
last = Paine
first = S.C.M
authorlink =
year = 2002
chapter =
title = The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy
publisher = Cambridge University Press
location = London
id = ISBN 0-521-81714-5
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-8047-4977-9
*cite book
last = Warner
first = Denis
coauthors = Warner, Peggy
year = 1974
title = The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War', 1904-1905
publisher = Charterhouse
location =
id = AISN B000OLLNGAExternal links
*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px03.htm#a001
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-08Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.