Japanese politician (1861?1929)
Baron
Tachibana Koichir?
(
立花小一?
, 20 March 1861 – 15 February 1929)
was a general in the early
Imperial Japanese Army
, and later a politician in the
Diet
of the
Empire of Japan
.
[1]
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Military career
[
edit
]
Tachibana was born as the eldest son to a
samurai
family in
Miike Domain
(present day
?muta, Fukuoka
). In December 1883 he entered the sixth class of the predecessor of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. He graduated with honors from the 5th class of the
Army Staff College
in December 1889 and was assigned to the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
. During the
First Sino-Japanese War
, Tachibana served as a junior officer on the
staff
of the
Japanese First Army
. After the end of the war, from 1896 to 1899, he was sent to
Austria-Hungary
for further training.
[1]
On his return to Japan, Tachibana was assigned to the
Japanese China Garrison Army
, becoming a
military advisor
to
Yuan Shikai
.
[3]
On his return to Japan, he became the bureau head of the Personnel Department of the
Ministry of the Army
.
With the start of the
Russo-Japanese War
, Tachibana was deputy chief-of-staff of the
Japanese Fourth Army
under General
Nozu Michitsura
. In March 1905 he was promoted to colonel and was ordered back to Japan shortly after the
Battle of Mukden
to serve on the staff of the
Imperial General Headquarters
. He was one of the representatives of Japan at the
Treaty of Portsmouth
negotiations ending the war, later remaining as a
military attache
to the United States.
[1]
In August 1908, Tachibana was promoted to
major general
and commanded the IJA 22nd Infantry Brigade, followed by the IJA 30th Infantry Brigade and the
1st Guards Brigade
. He was subsequently chief-of-staff of the
Japanese Chosen Army
and head of the
Kempeitai
under the
Chosen Government-General
. In August 1914, Tachibana was promoted to
lieutenant general
. He was then assigned command of the
IJA 19th Infantry Division
, followed by the
IJA 4th Infantry Division
and was the first commander-in-chief of the newly formed
Kwantung Army
from 1919 to 1921.
[4]
In August 1920, Tachibana was promoted to general and from January 1921 to November 1922 was appointed the final commander-in-chief of the Japanese expeditionary force in the
Japanese intervention in Siberia
. This promotion was over the objections of Army Chief-of-Staff General
Uehara Yusaku
, who had wanted Tachibana to take over the more prestigious role of
Inspector General of Military Training
. At a press conference in
Vladivostok
, Tachibana stated that he hoped that the
Far Eastern Republic
would soon establish a stable, democratic and independent government in the region, as Japan had no interest in remaining to interfere in Russian politics.
[5]
Afterwards, Tachibana returned to Japan and served on the
Supreme War Council
. He entered the reserves in March 1923, and was ennobled with the title of
baron
(
danshaku
) under the
kazoku
peerage system in October of the same year. He was also promoted to the honorific title of Junior Third
Court Rank
.
[6]
Political career
[
edit
]
From August 1924 to August 1925, Tachibana served as mayor of the city of
Fukuoka
. From July 1925 to his death in February 1929, he held a seat in the
House of Peers
in the
Diet of Japan
.
Decorations
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Kowner,
Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War
, p. 364-365.
- ^
"Tachibana Koichir?"
.
Nihon jinmei daijiten+Plus
(in Japanese). K?dansha
. Retrieved
16 May
2014
.
- ^
Reynolds, Douglas R. (1995).
China, 1895-1912 State Sponsored Reforms and China's Late-Qing Revolution
. M E Sharpe.
ISBN
1563247496
.
page 78
- ^
Coox, Alvin D.
(1985).
Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939
. Stanford University Press.
ISBN
0-8047-1160-7
.
page 7
- ^
Dunscomb, Paul E (2001).
Japan's Siberian Intervention, 1918?1922: 'A Great Disobedience Against the People'
. Lexington Books. p. 146.
ISBN
0739146009
.
- ^
『官報』第3223?「?任及?令」May 1, 1923
- ^
『官報』第3578?「?任及?令」August 21, 1916
- ^
『官報』第2612?「?任及?令」April 19, 1921
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Koichir? Tachibana
at Wikimedia Commons