- Saneyuki Akiyama
Infobox Military Person
name= Saneyuki Akiyama
lived=12 April 1868 –4 February 1918 [Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy]
placeofbirth=Matsuyama, Tosa domainJapan
placeofdeath=Odawara, Kanagawa ,Japan
caption= Japanese Admiral Akiyama Saneyuki
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1886-1917
rank=Vice Admiral
commands=IJN 2nd Fleet
"Akitsushima"
"Otowa"
"Hashidate"
"Izumo"
"Ibuki".
unit=
battles=First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War
awards=
family=
laterwork=nihongo|Saneyuki Akiyama |秋山 真之| Akiyama Saneyuki|extra=12 April 1868 –4 February 1918 was a Meiji-period career officer in theImperial Japanese Navy . He was famous as a planner ofBattle of Tsushima in theRusso-Japanese War . The Japanese generalAkiyama Yoshifuru was his elder brother. [Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography]Biography
Early life and career
Akiyama was born in Matsuyama Domain,
Iyo Province , as a son of a poor "samurai ". As a youth, he studied literature, especially traditional waka poetry. The famous poetMasaoka Shiki was his friend from childhood. Later two young men went toTokyo to study literature and Akiyama began to prepare for entry into the Literature Department ofTokyo Imperial University . However, Akiyama was forced to abandon his study of letters as his elder brother Yoshifuru ordered him to go to Naval School in Tsukiji, Tokyo instead, largely due to the economically severe condition of the Akiyama family.While Akiyama was a student, the Tsukiji Naval School moved to Etajima, in
Hiroshima prefecture , and was renamed theImperial Japanese Naval Academy . Akiyama was an outstanding student, graduating at in 1890 at the top of the 17th class, out of 88 cadets. He graduated just weeks after the publication of the first and last chapters ofAlfred Thayer Mahan 's classic study, "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History , 1660-1783" in its Japanese translation in July 1890.Akiyama served his
midshipman tour on the "Hiei" and cruiser "Takachiho". On commissioning as an ensign in 1892, he rose through the ranks in a variety of routine shipboard assignments and duties that included deployments throughout thePacific Ocean ,Mediterranean Sea , and European waters. He was assigned to the "Ryūjō". He subsequently served on the "Matsushima", "Yoshino", "Tsukushi" (during theBattle of Weihaiwei in theFirst Sino-Japanese War ), "Izumi" and "Yaeyama". Following the hostilities he served a tour at the Imperial Navy'sTorpedo school and then was assigned tonaval intelligence , where he spent several months posing as a laborer and conducting missions inManchuria andKorea .tudies in the United States
After his promotion to
lieutenant in 1896, Akiyama was sent to theUnited States as anaval attaché from26 June 1897 to27 December 1899 . It was a time of heightened tension between Japan and the United States, due to the overthrow of theKingdom of Hawaii by American marines and settlers, which nearly led to a rupture of diplomatic relations.On Akiyama's arrival in
New York , he attempted to contact Alfred Thayer Mahan for advice and recommendations on how to study at either theUS Naval Academy orNaval War College . Mahan was unwilling to help, aside from giving Akiyama a list of books to read. Akiyama then contacted the AssistantSecretary of the Navy ,Theodore Roosevelt , but his pleas to be allowed to attend the Naval War College were refused.Akiyama’s tour of duty coincided with the start of the
Spanish-American War , and he joined the American fleet as a foreign military observer. He was able to watch American forces captureSantiago de Cuba in June 1898, and the blockade ofHavana harbor in July. Akiyama submitted a lengthy report back to Japan on his observations, and noting problems in the blockade and landing operations. On conclusion of his tour, he served a short tour as the Naval Attache with the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC.In February 1899, due to the efforts of the Japanese ambassador, Akiyama received permission to serve a six-month tour on board a
US Navy warship, the U.S.S. New York, where he was able to observe American tactics and fleet operations in theNorth Atlantic andCaribbean firsthand. As a result of his service onboard, Akiyama participated in several lectures at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. On completion of his studies in the United States, Akiyama traveled toEngland from27 December 1899 to20 May 1900 .Instructor at the Navy War College
On his return to Japan, Akiyama was promoted to
lieutenant commander and assigned to various staff posts, and was the senior strategy instructor at theNaval War College (Japan) from July 1902-November 1903. Akiyama initiated a curriculum reform using hypothetical situations to simulate the formulation of orders and development of realistic contingency plans. He also introduced the concepts of war gaming and tabletop map exercises, and developed theories for a new strategic and tactical doctrines for the Japanese Navy based upon his observations during the Spanish-American War. Akiyama focused onRussia as the primary threat to Japan in his lectures.Akiyama was 34 years old, and was lecturing to officers who were of the same age, or in some cases his senior. Nonetheless, he achieved the respect of his peers due to his professional knowledge, expertise and personality. [Rivera, Smells Like Butter]
Russo-Japanese War
With the outbreak of the
Russo-Japanese War , Akiyama was promoted to commander, but remained on the planning staff, and was a close and trusted confidant of JapaneseCommander in Chief of theCombined Fleet ,Togo Heihachiro . Togo insisted that Akiyama accompany him into battle on his battleship "Mikasa" as an advisor, and despite his junior rank Akiyama played a central role in planning for theBattle of Port Arthur ,Battle of the Yellow Sea , and planning for arrival of theRussian Baltic Fleet and the subsequentBattle of Tsushima . During the preliminary negotiations for theTreaty of Portsmouth , the Japanese government had designated Akiyama as the senior naval representative, but his mother's death led to his replacement. [Warner, The Tide at Sunrise]Postwar activities
After the end of the war, in 1908, Akiyama received an assignment as
executive officer on "Mikasa", and subsequently his first command, as captain of "Akitsushima". He was subsequently captain of the "Otowa", "Hashidate", "Izumo", andbattlecruiser "Ibuki". [Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy ]Akiyama was promoted to
rear admiral on1 December 1913 . Soon afterwards, the Siemens-Vickers Naval Armaments Scandal of 1914 shook up the government, forcing the resignations ofYamamoto Gonnohyoe andOkuma Shigenobu . Akiyama remained one of the few senior officers completely untouched by suspicion or corruption, and was nominated byYashiro Rokuro as Director-General of the Navy in an effort to restore public confidence. Akiyama served on theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff until his retirement on1 December 1917 . His major accomplishment during this period was to have the cruiser "Otowa" stationed permanently atShanghai , from which it helped support a large network of intelligence agents posing asexchange student s in all corners ofChina . At the same time, Akiyama maintained a regular and secret correspondence withSun Yat-sen , assisting him also materially in his efforts to preventYuan Shikai from establishing a new empire. [Rivera, Smells Like Butter]With the outbreak of
World War I , Akiyama traveled to Europe via theTrans-Siberian Railroad toFinland , and from there to England, where he met with his old acquaintance, former British naval observer Commander Pakenham. He returned to Japan via the United States to assume command of theIJN 2nd Fleet in October 1917, but by this time he was already very ill, and was forced to resign in late 1917.On retirement, Akiyama was promoted to
vice admiral . In his final years, he became obsessed with religion, especially with theOomoto movement andNichiren sect Buddhism and theHeart Sutra . Akiyama died ofperitonitis in 1918 at the young age of 49, His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo. [Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography]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 = Rose
first = Lisle A.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2006
title = Power at Sea: The Age of Navalism 1890-1918
publisher = University of Missouri Press
location =
id = 082621701X
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
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 = AISN B000OLLNGA
id =
*cite book
last = Peattie
first = Mark R.
coauthors =
year = 1977
title = Akiyama Saneyuki and the Emergence of Modern Japanese Naval Doctrine
publisher = U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 103
location =
id =External links
*cite web
last = Rivera
first = Carlos
url = http://www.russojapanesewar.com/butter.html
title = Smells Like Butter? The Kaigun's Akiyama Saneyuki
work = Russo-Japanese War
accessdate = 2007-08-03
*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px17.htm#v001
title = Materials of IJN: Akiyama, Saneyuki
work = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-03Notes
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