Inoue Yoshika

Infobox Military Person
name= Inoue Yoshika
lived=3 November 1845 - 22 March 1929 [Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy]
placeofbirth=Kagoshima, Satsuma domain, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption= Japanese Admiral Viscount Inoue Yoshika
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1868 -1911
rank=Fleet Admiral
commands="Unyo", "Kōtetsu", "Fusō", "Kongō"
Imperial Japanese Navy Academy
Readiness Fleet
Sasebo Naval District
Kure Naval District
Yokosuka Naval District
unit=
battles=Boshin War
Satsuma Rebellion
First Sino-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
awards= Order of the Chrysanthemum
family=
laterwork=
Fleet Admiral Viscount nihongo|Yoshika Inoue|井上良馨|Inoue Yoshika (3 November 1845 - 22 March 1929) was a career naval officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy during Meiji-period.

Biography

Born in what is now part of Kagoshima city, as the son of a "samurai" retainer of the Satsuma domain, Inoue took part in the Anglo-Satsuma War as a youth. Although injured during the fighting, he was extremely impressed with the firepower of the Royal Navy and the amount of material damage that only a few vessels was able to inflict on Kagoshima. On recovery, he enlisted in the Satsuma domain Navy, and thus played an important role in the naval campaigns associated with the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, as commander of the Satsuma warship "Kasuga".

After the Meiji Restoration and the absorption of the various feudal navies into central government control, Inoue became a naval officer in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy.

At the time of the Ganghwa Island incident (1875) with Korea, Inoue Yoshika was captain of the gunboat "Unyo". He later served as captain of several other warships in the early Imperial Japanese Navy, and fought against his former Satsuma clansmen in the Satsuma Rebellion.

He was promoted to rear admiral on 15 June 1886, and appointed Director of the Bureau of Naval Affairs shortly thereafter. He was ennobled with the title of "danshaku" (baron) under the "kazoku" peerage system on 24 May 1887.

Inoue became first Director of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 16 August 1888. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Readiness Fleet on 29 July 1889, a vice admiral on 12 December 1892, and admiral on 12 December 1901.

After the Russo-Japanese War, he was elevated to "shishaku" (viscount) on 21 September 1907, and to the largely ceremonial rank of Fleet Admiral on his retirement on 31 October 1911.

Inoue died in 1929. His grave is in his hometown of Kagoshima.

References

Books

*cite book
last = Hoare
first = J.E.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1999
title = Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. III
publisher = RoutledgeCurzon
location = California, USA
id = ISBN 1-873410-89-1
*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 = California, USA
id = ISBN 0-8047-4977-9

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
authorlink =
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px00.htm#f002
title = Materials of IJN: Inoue, Yoshika
format =
work = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-03

Notes