- Kuroki Tamemoto
Infobox Military Person
name=Kuroki Tamemoto
lived=3 May 1844 -3 February 1923
placeofbirth= Satsuma,Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo ,Japan
caption=General Kuroki Tamemoto
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears=1871-1909
rank=General
commands=IJA 6th Division , IJA 1st Army
unit=
battles=Boshin War First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War
awards=
family=
laterwork=Count nihongo|Tamemoto Kuroki |黒木為楨|"Kuroki Tamemoto" (May 3, 1844 – February 3, 1923) was asoldier who served in theImperial Japanese Army (IJA). He was the head of theJapanese First Army (1st Army) during theRusso-Japanese War ; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, theBattle of Liaoyang , theBattle of Shaho and theBattle of Mukden .Early life
Born as the son of a
samurai in the Satsuma domain in southernKyūshū in what is nowKagoshima prefecture , Kuroki fought for theShimazu clan against theShogun al forces in theBoshin War during theMeiji Restoration . He was a commander of theinfantry at theBattle of Toba-Fushimi and later at theBattle of Utsunomiya Castle .Imperial Japanese Army
In 1871, Kuroki enlisted with the rank of
captain in the newly established Imperial Japanese Army and, within four years, was soon promoted tolieutenant colonel .During the
Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, Kuroki commanded a regiment against his own clan, and 17 years later, aslieutenant general , he commanded theIJA 6th Division in theSino-Japanese War (1894-1895) , during which time he took part in theBattle of Weihaiwei .Russo-Japanese War
Promoted to the rank of
general in November 1903, Kuroki was appointed commander of the Japanese 1st Army upon the outbreak of theRusso-Japanese War the following year. After landing his forces atChemulpo nearSeoul in mid-February, Kuroki advanced north routing a smaller Russian force at theBattle of the Yalu River on30 April -1 May ,1904 . Commanding the Japanese left flank at theBattle of Liaoyang , he repulsed a disorganized Russian attack from25 August -3 September .During the
Battle of Shaho , Kuroki's forces again successfully defended against the Russian offensive under GeneralAleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin from5 October -17 and later commanded the Japanese right flank at theBattle of Mukden from21 February -10 March 1905 . [Connaughton, Richard Michael. (1988). [http://books.google.com/books?id=igwOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Rising+Sun+and+Tumbling+Bear&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U3TkRz2xNDMGdUQmomhahrrfteOsA#PPA231,M1 "The War of the Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear: A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5," p. 231.] ]In the same way that the Russo-Japanese War is arguably identified as the first modern war, [Sisemore, James D. (2003). [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p4013coll2&CISOPTR=113 "The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned."]
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College ; Kepplinger, Hans Mathias "et al" [http://www.jstor.org/pss/3650646 "Instrumental Actualization: A Theory of Mediated Conflicts,"] "European Journal of Communication," Vol. 6, No. 3, 263-290 (1991).] Gen. Kuroki can be described as one of the first modern generals, not only because his forces were the ultimate victors. In addition to directing the fight against the Russians, Kuroki was obliged to devote attention to a large coterie of Western observers. [Roth, Mitchel P. and James Stuart Olson. (1997). [http://books.google.com/books?id=OEphWsER8QYC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=jiji++and+russo-japanese+war&source=web&ots=GYiFy4w6ta&sig=eLNue0wd6P24K7ymX9wDNJF3Nkg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA267,M1 "Historical Dictionary of War Journalism," p. 267.] ] Press coverage of the war was affected by restrictions on the movement of reporters and strict censorship. In all military conflicts which followed this 1904-1905 war, close attention to more managed reporting was considered essential.Walker, Dale L. [http://www.jacklondons.net/Journalism/jackLondonsWar.html "Jack London's War."] World of Jack London website.]Kuroki's senior military attaché, Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton, would somewhat mis-apply lessons learned in Kuroki's retinue. At Gallipoli in 1915, the Chief Field Censor was William Maxwell, a British journalist who had been in Kuroki's entourage during 1904-1905. [Knightly, Philip. [http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/1landing/knightley.html "Beating the censor – Ashmead-Bartlett's efforts to reveal the real story of Gallipoli,"] "Visit Gallipoli" (Information Services Branch of the Board of Studies NSW for the Department of Veterans' Affairs); Knightly, Phillip (2004). [http://books.google.com/books?id=DXu6XL4g4agC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+first+casualty&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U1bsx7mRpayCNf5bpeB1y-KUXEYyw#PPA107,M1 "The First Casualty," p. 107;] Roth, [http://books.google.com/books?id=OEphWsER8QYC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=jiji++and+russo-japanese+war&source=web&ots=GYiFy4w6ta&sig=eLNue0wd6P24K7ymX9wDNJF3Nkg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA196,M1 p. 196.] ]
These experiences provided a model that a young American military attaché, Capt.
John J. Pershing would adapt a decade later in Europe when he persuaded American journalist Frederick Palmer to take on the task of press accreditation for theAmerican Expeditionary Force (AEF). [Roth, [http://books.google.com/books?id=OEphWsER8QYC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=jiji++and+russo-japanese+war&source=web&ots=GYiFy4w6ta&sig=eLNue0wd6P24K7ymX9wDNJF3Nkg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA230,M1 p. 230.] ] Palmer, like Pershing, had experienced the Russo-Japanese War through the filter Gen. Kuroki had imposed.Later years
Despite his success and previous military record, Kuroki was one of two senior field commanders denied promotion to Field Marshal, thought to be largely because of his Satsuma origins at a time when the government was dominated by Chōshū rivals although this may have been due to the internal politics within the Japanese Imperial Army of the time. [Humphreys, Leonard A. (1995). [http://books.google.com/books?id=vlA3wijPak4C&pg=PA3&dq=Kuroki+and+Choshu+Imperial+Japanese+Army&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U2YPCoBEZHMCSISZorSrVtEyQFN9w#PPA3,M1 "The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920's," p. 3.] ]
Retiring from military service in 1909, he received the title of "danshaku" (
baron ) and later "hakushaku" (count ) under the "kazoku " peerage system.From 1917 onwards served as a nihongo|
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan |内大臣| Naidaijin until his death in 1923.Notes
References
* Connaughton, Richard Michael. (1988). [http://books.google.com/books?id=igwOAAAAQAAJ&dq=Rising+Sun+and+Tumbling+Bear&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "The War of the Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear: A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5."] London:
Routledge . 10-ISBN 0-415-00906-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-415-00906-5 (cloth); 10-ISBN 0-415-07143-7; 13-ISBN 978-0-415-07143-7 (paper) -- reprinted by [Cassell Military] , London, 2004. 10-ISBN 0-304-36657-9; 13-ISBN 978-0-304-36657-6 (paper)
* Davis, Richard Harding "et al." (1905). [http://books.google.com/books?id=z_dyHgAACAAJ&dq=Russo-Japanese+War:+A+Photographic+and+Descriptive+Review+of+the+Great+Conflict+in+the+Far+East.&client=firefox-a "The Russo-Japanese war; a photographic and descriptive review of the great conflict in the Far East, gathered from the reports, records, cable despatches, photographs, etc., etc., of Collier's war correspondents"] New York: P. F. Collier & Son. [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/21581015 OCLC: 21581015]
* Dupuy, Trevor N. "et al." (1992). [ "Encyclopedia of Military Biography."] London: I. B. Tauris & Co. 10-ISBN 1-850-43569-3; 13-ISBN 978-1-850-43569-3; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/59974268 OCLC 59974268]
* Harries, Meirion "et al." (1992). [http://books.google.com/books?id=HwoXAgAACAAJ&dq=Soldiers+of+the+Sun:+The+Rise+and+Fall+of+the+Imperial+Japanese+Army&client=firefox-a "Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army."] New York:Random House . 10-ISBN 0-394-56935-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-394-56935-2
* Humphreys, Leonard A. (1995). [ "The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920's."] Stanford:Stanford University Press . 10-ISBN 0-804-72375-3; 13-ISBN 978-0-804-72375-6
* Kepplinger, Hans Mathias, Hans-Bernd Brosius and Joachim Friedrich Staab. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/3650646 "Instrumental Actualization: A Theory of Mediated Conflicts,"] "European Journal of Communication," Vol. 6, No. 3, 263-290 (1991) DOI: 10.1177/0267323191006003002
* Kowner, Rotem. (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=v1xAAQAACAAJ&dq=Historical+Dictionary+of+the+Russo-Japanese+War&lr=&client=firefox-a "Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War."] Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. 10-ISBN 0-810-84927-5; 13-978-0-810-84927-3; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/58985767 OCLC 58985767]
* Roth, Mitchel P. and James Stuart Olson. (1997). [http://books.google.com/books?id=OEphWsER8QYC&dq=jiji++and+russo-japanese+war&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Historical Dictionary of War Journalism."] Westport, Connecticut:Greenwood Publishing Group . 10-ISBN 0-313-29171-3; 13-ISBN 978-0-313-29171-5
* Towle, Philip. (1998). [http://www.russojapanesewar.com/aspects.pdf "Aspects of the Russo-Japanese War: British Observers of the Russo-Japanese War," ] Paper No. IS/1998/351. STICERD, LSE.
* Sisemore, James D. (2003). Sisemore, James D. (2003). [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p4013coll2&CISOPTR=113 "The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned."]U.S. Army Command and General Staff College .External links
* [http://www.russojapanesewar.com/ Russo-Japanese War Research Society]
*National Diet Library : [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/70.html?c=7 Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures, Kuroki.]
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