Japanese samurai and general (1845?1907)
Baron
Tatsumi Naofumi
(
立見 ?文
, 21 August 1845 – 6 March 1907)
was a
samurai
from the
Kuwana Domain
in the
Bakumatsu period
Tokugawa shogunate
and later a general in the
Imperial Japanese Army
during the
Meiji period
.
[1]
Biography
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Early life
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Tatsumi was born in
Edo
as the third son of a retainer of Kuwana Domain name Machida Dendaiyu. He was later adopted by his uncle, a fellow retainer named Tatsumi Sakujuro Takashi, whose surname he took. He was also known as
Tatsumi Kanzabur?
(
立見鑑三?
)
in his youth. At age five, the young Tatsumi went to
Kuwana
with his adoptive father, and at age 8 entered the domain school,
Rikkyokan
,
studying literature and
martial arts
, and receiving a commendation for academic excellence at age 15. Soon after,
Matsudaira Sadaaki
became
daimy?
of Kuwana, and Tatsumi became his
page
, with a 180
koku
stipend. Together with Matsudaira Sadaaki, he left for Edo in 1861, where was permitted to attend the elite Shogunate school at
Shoheiko
, and where he was hailed as a prodigy.
Soldier in the Boshin War
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When Matsudaira Sadaaki was appointed as
Kyoto Shoshidai
,
Tatsumi followed him to
Kyoto
, where he served as a liaison with other domains. It was in this role that he met many of the men who would later become famous in the
Meiji period
, including
Katsura Kogor?
,
?kubo Toshimichi
, and
Saig? Takamori
. Before long, though, he was transferred back to Edo and entered the
Tokugawa bakufu
's French-trained infantry. His
French military instructors
were said to have remarked, "Tatsumi is a genius of a soldier." He later served in the
Bakufu's
3rd Infantry Regiment.
The first battle of the
Boshin War
, the
Battle of Toba?Fushimi
, occurred while he was in Edo. When Matsudaira Sadaaki returned, Tatsumi advocated continued military opposition to the
Satch? Alliance
army. Tatsumi and the Kuwana retainers remaining in Edo followed Matsudaira Sadaaki to
Echigo Province
by sea, where they hoped to establish themselves in the former Shogunal territory of
Kashiwazaki
. Tatsumi organized the remaining Kuwana forces into three units?the
Raijintai
, the
Jinputai
, and the
Chinintai
. Elections were held to determine the commanders of each unit, and Tatsumi became commander of the
Raijintai
, and his elder brother Machida Ronoshin became commander of the
Jinputai
. Through well-coordinated
guerilla tactics
, Tatsumi managed to fight his way to Kashiwazaki. Joining up with Matsudaira Sadaaki in Kashiwazaki, he continued to fight against the new
Meiji government
's army, first independently, and then in concert with the
Nagaoka Domain
. However, when Nagaoka was defeated, the Kuwana forces retreated further north, to
Aizu Domain
, ruled by Matsudaira Sadaaki's birth brother,
Matsudaira Katamori
. Tatsumi fought in the
Aizu campaign
, and led the Kuwana forces even north on Matsudaira Sadaaki's orders to join the
?uetsu Reppan D?mei
, surrendering in
Sh?nai Domain
(present-day
Yamagata Prefecture
) some time later.
Under the Meiji government
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Following the end of the
Boshin War
, Tatsumi was placed in confinement in January 1871, and changed his given name to Naofumi. However, he was soon pardoned by the new government, and returned to Kuwana Domain as a junior councilor after pleading his loyalty to
Emperor Meiji
. He accepted a post as a prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice from April 1873 and was promoted steadily until he reached the position of chief prosecutor at the
Tokyo District Court
in May 1877.
However, the following month, in response to the
Satsuma Rebellion
, he joined the
Imperial Japanese Army
and was given the rank of
major
. He served as
chief-of-staff
of the
Shinsenryodan
,
a unit composed of former Kuwana samurai and members of the
Shinsengumi
.
He commanded the IJA 10th Infantry Regiment and later the IJA 8th Infantry Regiment during the Satsuma Rebellion. Afterwards, in February 1879 he was appointed commandant of the Osaka Garrison. In July 1880, he became chief-of-staff of the
Imperial Guard
. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1884 and in May 1885 was commander of the Guards 3rd Infantry. From August 1886 to December 1887, he was
aide-de-camp
to
Prince Komatsu Akihito
, and accompanied him overseas on diplomatic missions to England, France, Germany and Russia, as well as the
Ottoman Empire
. He was promoted to colonel in November 1887. After his return to Japan, he was chief-of-staff of the
IJA 3rd Division
from March 1889.
Tatsumi was promoted to
major general
in June 1894 and was assigned command of the IJA 10th Infantry Brigade. During the
First Sino-Japanese War
he was distinguished by his role in the 1894
Battle of Pyongyang
.
[1]
After the end of the war, He was ennobled with the rank of
danshaku
(
baron
) under the
kazoku
peerage system in August 1895.After the war, he was briefly commandant of the
Army Staff College
, and was then head of the Japanese military bureau within the
Government-General of Taiwan
from April 1896.
He was promoted to
lieutenant general
in October 1898 and was placed in command of the newly formed
IJA 8th Division
. The infamous
Hakk?da Mountains incident
in which 199 of 210 members of its 5th Infantry Regiment froze to death in
Hakk?da Mountains
during training exercise occurred during his command. Tatsumi subsequently led the division into combat during the
Russo-Japanese War
.
[2]
Two of the principal battles of his military career were at
Sandepu
and
Mukden
in 1905.
[1]
He was promoted to full general in May 1906, but retired two months later and died the following March.
Decorations
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References
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External links
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Notes
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