Kawakami Soroku

Infobox Military Person
name=Baron Kawakami Soroku
lived=11 November 1848 - 11 May 1899
placeofbirth=Kagoshima, Satsuma domain, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption= Official photo of Baron Kawakami Soroku
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears=1871 -1899
rank=General
commands=
unit=
battles=Boshin War
First Sino-Japanese War
awards=Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class)
Order of the Rising Sun (1st class with Paulownia Blossoms, Grand Cordon)
Grand Order of the Chrysanthemum.
family=
laterwork=nihongo| Kawakami Soroku |川上 操六|Kawakami Sōroku (11 November 1848 - 11 May 1899, was a general and one of the chief military strategists in the Imperial Japanese Army during the First Sino-Japanese War.

Biography

Born in Satsuma to a "samurai" family, Kawakami fought on the Imperial side for the Meiji Restoration against the forces for the Tokugawa Shogunate starting with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. He distinguished himself by his defense of the besieged Kumamoto Castle in the Boshin War. [Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography]

Afterwards, he came to Tokyo to assist with the founding of the new Imperial Japanese Army. He rose rapidly through the ranks, and helped quell the Satsuma Rebellion.

In 1884, he accompanied Oyama Iwao to study military science in various countries of Europe, especially Prussia. [Harries, Soldiers of the Sun ] After returning home, he became a major general and vice-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. In 1887, he returned to Europe again to study military science further in Germany. In 1890, he became a lieutenant general.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Kawakami served as senior military staff officer on the Imperial General Headquarters, and was known as a brilliant strategist. After the successful conclusion of that war, he was awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class), and elevated to the nobility with the title of "danshaku" (baron) under the kazoku peerage system.　

Kawakami was posthumously awarded the Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class), Order of the Rising Sun (1st class with Paulownia Blossoms, Grand Cordon) and the Grand Order of the Chrysanthemum. His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

References

*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 = Jansen
first = Marius B.
year = 1986
title = Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji
publisher = Princeton University Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-85043-569-3
*cite book
last = Jansen
first = Marius B.
year = 2000
title = The Making of Modern Japan
publisher = Balknap Press
location =
id = ISBN 0674009916
*cite book
last = Keane
first = Donald
year = 2005
title = Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912
publisher = Columbia University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0231123418
*cite book
last = Harries
first = Meirion
year = 1994
title = Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army
publisher = Random House
location =
id = ISBN 0-679-75303-6

External links

*cite web
last = National Diet Library
first =
url = http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/61.html?c=7
title = Kawakami Soroku
work = Portraits of Modern Historical Figures

Notes