Imperial Japanese Navy career officer (1868-1904)
Hirose Takeo
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Born
| (
1868-05-27
)
May 27, 1868
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Died
| March 27, 1904
(1904-03-27)
(aged 35)
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Cause of death
| Killed in action
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Hirose Takeo
(
廣瀨武夫
,
Hirose Takeo
)
, (May 27, 1868 – March 27, 1904) was a career officer in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
. He commanded the cargo vessel
Fukui Maru
during the
Battle of Port Arthur
in the
Russo-Japanese War
. The ship was hit by coastal artillery, and despite being wounded, he drowned while looking for other survivors of the sinking,
going down with his ship
. His selfless sacrifice elevated him to the status of a deified national hero.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in what is now
Taketa, ?ita
, his father Hirose Shigetake was a judge, while his elder brother
Hirose Katsuhiko
was a
rear admiral
. He studied at the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
in
Etajima
, graduating from the 15th class in 1889. He served aboard the
ironclad warship
Fus?
during the
First Sino-Japanese War
and saw action at the
Battle of Yalu River
on September 17, 1894.
From 1897 to 1899 Hirose was sent to study in
Russia
and stayed on as the resident
military attache
in
St. Petersburg
until 1902. During his time as attache he went on a tour of
Germany
,
France
and
Great Britain
. He was promoted to
lieutenant commander
in 1900.
When
Japan
went to war against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Hirose was assigned to the
battleship
Asahi
as torpedo officer. However, during the
Battle of Port Arthur
he volunteered to command the
Fukui Maru
, an old cargo vessel which was used as a
blockship
during the second unsuccessful attempt to blockade the entrance to
Port Arthur
on the night of March 26. As the ship was about to reach the channel, it was hit by Russian coastal artillery and exploded. Hirose was fatally wounded while searching for survivors and
went down with the ship
.
Because of his heroism, he was posthumously promoted to commander, and deified as a "martial spirit" (軍神
gunshin
), and a
Shinto shrine
was built in his honor in
Taketa, Oita
. A statue of him was also erected outside the
Manseibashi Railway Station
in Tokyo until 1947.
Cultural references
[
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]
Song of Commander Hirose
was a
Monbusho Shoka
, or a song authorized by the Ministry of Education, a predecessor of the current
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
.
Hirose was the subject of the epic historical novel
Saka no Ue no Kumo
, by author
Ry?tar? Shiba
. The novel became the basis for the
NHK
television drama
Saka no Ue no Kumo
, in which Hirose portrayed by ex-Olympic swimmer and actor
Takahiro Fujimoto
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Connaughton, R.M (1988).
The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear?A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904?5
, London,
ISBN
0-415-00906-5
.
- Jukes, Geoffry.
The Russo-Japanese War 1904?1905
. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002).
ISBN
978-1-84176-446-7
.
- Kowner, Rotem
(2006).
Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War
. The Scarecrow Press.
ISBN
0-8108-4927-5
.
External links
[
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]
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