Ishimoto Shinroku

Infobox Military Person
name=Baron Ishimoto Shinroku
lived= (8 April 1850 - 28 April 1926)
placeofbirth=Himeji, Harima province, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption= Japanese General Baron Ishimoto Shunroku
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears=1875-1912
rank=General
commands=
unit=
battles=Satsuma Rebellion
Russo-Japanese War
awards=
family=
laterwork=War Ministernihongo|Ishimoto Shinroku|石本 新六|Ishimoto Shinroku|extra=20 January 1854 – 2 April 1912 was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and Minister of War under the second Saionji Kinmochi administration from 1911 - 1912.

Early life

Ishimoto was born to a "samurai-"class family in Himeji, Harima province (present-day Hyōgo Prefecture). Soon after his birth, his family's house in Edo was destroyed in the Ansei Earthquake of 1854, and in the subsequent Meiji Restoration his father lost his employment and privileged status. Despite his family's desperate financial situation, he was sent to the "Daigaku Nanko" for a military education, and was enlisted as a cadet in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army.

Military career

In February, 1875, Ishimoto was accepted into the 1st class of the new Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and enrolled in the military engineering program. He was able to put his education to immediate use in the Satsuma Rebellion. Afterwards, from 1879-1882, he was sent as a military attaché to France, where he was able to complete his education in engineering and artillery at the French Army's École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. He returned to Japan for a year, and was sent overseas again from 1883-1887 as military attaché to Italy. On his return to Japan, his rise through the ranks was rapid. He was promoted to colonel in 1895, and major general in 1897, and became an instructor in military engineering, first at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and then at the Army War College, and afterwards he worked as a section head in the Japanese Army Corps of Engineers. His knowledge and ability caught the eye of General Terauchi Masatake, who made him a chief of staff during the Russo-Japanese War. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1904. [Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography]

After the war, Ishimoto was elevated to the title of "danshaku" (baron) under the "kazoku" peerage system.

In 1911, Ishimoto was appointed Army Minister under the cabinet of Prime Minister Saionji Kinmochi. [Wendel, Axis History Factbook] At the time, there was a major controversy between the Army's demand for an expansion by two additional infantry divisions, and the cabinet's insistence that there was not enough money in the budget to pay for the expansion. He died while in office, at the relatively young age of 59, with the issue unresolved. His grave is located at the temple of Tenno-ji, located in Taitō, Tokyo.

His wife was the daughter of General Adachi Shotaro. They had several children; their second and fifth sons also rose to the rank of general in the Imperial Japanese Army.

References

Books

*cite book
last = Conners
first = Leslie
year = 1992
title = The Emperor's Adviser: Saionji Kinmochi and Pre-War Japanese Politics
publisher = Routledge Kegan & Paul
location =
id = ISBN 0709934491
*cite book
last = Oka
first = Yoshitake
year = 1984
title = Five "Political Leaders of Modern Japan: Ito Hirobumi, Okuma Shigenobu, Hara Takashi, Inukai Tsuyoshi, and Saionji Kimmochi
publisher = University of Tokyo Press
location =
id = ISBN 0860083799
*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 = 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 = Sims
first = Richard
year = 2005
title = Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000
publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
location =
id = ISBN 03122391570

External links

*cite web
last = Wendel
first = Markus
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6793
title = Army Minister of State (War Minister)
work = Axis History Factbook

Notes