Tatsumi Naofumi
Encyclopedia
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army
during the Meiji period
.
domain's (Ise Province
, present-day Mie Prefecture
) Edo
residence, to Kuwana retainer Machida Dendayu, and was later adopted by his uncle, Tatsumi Johei. 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 daimyo
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.
, 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 Kogoro, Ōkubo Toshimichi
, and Saigō 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.
During the Battle of Toba-Fushimi
, he was in Edo. When Matsudaira Sadaaki returned, Tatsumi advocated continued military opposition to the Imperial army. He followed his lord, and the Kuwana retainers remaining in Edo, and to Echigo Province
by sea, where they hoped to establish themselves in the former Shogunal territory of Kashiwazaki
. Tatsumi organized the remaining Kuwana retainers 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 government's army, first independently, and then in concert with the Nagaoka
domain. However, when Nagaoka was defeated, the Kuwana forces went further north, to Aizu
, the domain of Matsudaira Sadaaki's birth brother, Matsudaira Katamori
. Tatsumi fought in the Aizu campaign, and led the Kuwana forces north on Matsudaira Sadaaki's orders, surrendering in the Shonai
domain some time later.
, Tatsumi was placed in confinement, and changed his given name to Naofumi. Pardoned by the new government, Tatsumi joined the Imperial Japanese Army
. He served as chief-of-staff of the Shinsenryodan, a unit composed of former Kuwana retainers and members of the Shinsengumi
, in the Satsuma Rebellion
.
He was a senior officer in the First Sino-Japanese War
, distinguished by his role in the 1894 Battle of Pyongyang
.
During the Russo-Japanese War
, he was commander of the 8th Infantry Division. Two of the principal battles of his military career were at Sandepu
and Mukden
in 1905.
He later served as head of the Army War College
and as head of Japanese forces in Taiwan. He was ennobled with the rank of danshaku (baron
) under the kazoku
peerage system.
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
during the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
.
Early life
Also known as in his youth, Tatsumi was born in the KuwanaKuwana, Mie
is a city located in the northern end of Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is known as a major sightseeing city in the prefecture. Located at the mouth of the three rivers dividing Mie and Aichi prefectures, the city has functioned as a regional center of fishing, industry, business, and culture.As of...
domain's (Ise Province
Ise Province
or was a province of Japan including most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces.The ancient provincial capital was at Suzuka...
, present-day Mie Prefecture
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kansai regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, Mie prefecture was known as Ise Province and Iga Province....
) Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
residence, to Kuwana retainer Machida Dendayu, and was later adopted by his uncle, Tatsumi Johei. At age five, the young Tatsumi went to Kuwana with his adoptive father, and at age 8 entered the domain school, Rikkyokan
Han school
The han school was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of daimyo and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital...
, studying literature and martial arts, and receiving a commendation for academic excellence at age 15. Soon after, Matsudaira Sadaaki
Matsudaira Sadaaki
was a Japanese daimyo of the Bakumatsu period, who was the last ruler of the Kuwana Domain. Sadaaki was the adopted heir of Matsudaira Sadamichi, the descendant of Sadatsuna, the third son of Hisamatsu Sadakutsu , who was Tokugawa Ieyasu's brother. His family was known as the Hisamatsu Matsudaira...
became daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of Kuwana, and Tatsumi became his page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
, with a 180 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
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
When Matsudaira Sadaaki was appointed as Kyoto ShoshidaiKyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. However, the significance and effectiveness of the office is credited to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who developed these initial creations as bureaucratic elements in a consistent and...
, Tatsumi followed him to Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, 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
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, including Katsura Kogoro, Ōkubo Toshimichi
Okubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
, and Saigō Takamori
Saigo Takamori
was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...
. 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.
During the Battle of Toba-Fushimi
Battle of Toba-Fushimi
The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 , when the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and the allied forces of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa domains clashed near Fushimi...
, he was in Edo. When Matsudaira Sadaaki returned, Tatsumi advocated continued military opposition to the Imperial army. He followed his lord, and the Kuwana retainers remaining in Edo, and to Echigo Province
Echigo Province
was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...
by sea, where they hoped to establish themselves in the former Shogunal territory of Kashiwazaki
Kashiwazaki, Niigata
is a city located in Niigata, Japan.As of May 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 92,947 and the density of 210 persons per km². The total area is 442.70 km²....
. Tatsumi organized the remaining Kuwana retainers into three units—the Raijintai
Raijintai
The Raijintai was a Japanese guerilla warfare unit of the Kuwana domain, formed in 1868 during the Boshin War, for the purposes of fighting on behalf of the Northern Alliance of Confederated Domains...
, 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 government's army, first independently, and then in concert with the Nagaoka
Nagaoka, Niigata
is a city located in the central part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture, behind the capital city of Niigata...
domain. However, when Nagaoka was defeated, the Kuwana forces went further north, to Aizu
Aizu
is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...
, the domain of Matsudaira Sadaaki's birth brother, Matsudaira Katamori
Matsudaira Katamori
was a samurai who lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early to mid Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han and the Military Commissioner of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu period. During the Boshin War, Katamori and the Aizu han fought against the Meiji Government armies, but...
. Tatsumi fought in the Aizu campaign, and led the Kuwana forces north on Matsudaira Sadaaki's orders, surrendering in the Shonai
Shonai, Yamagata
is a town located in Higashitagawa District, Yamagata, Japan. It was created by the merger of the towns of Amarume and Tachikawa in 2005.As of 2005, the town has an estimated population of 24,921 and the density of 249.26 persons per km²...
domain some time later.
Under the Meiji government
Following the end of the Boshin WarBoshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
, Tatsumi was placed in confinement, and changed his given name to Naofumi. Pardoned by the new government, Tatsumi joined the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. He served as chief-of-staff of the Shinsenryodan, a unit composed of former Kuwana retainers and members of the Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
, in the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
.
He was a senior officer in the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
, distinguished by his role in the 1894 Battle of Pyongyang
Battle of Pyongyang
The Battle of Pyongyang was the second major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 15 September 1894 in Pyongyang, Korea between the forces of Meiji Japan and Qing China...
.
During the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, he was commander of the 8th Infantry Division. Two of the principal battles of his military career were at Sandepu
Battle of Sandepu
The Battle of Sandepu, was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought within a group of villages about 36 miles southwest of Mukden, Manchuria.-Background:...
and Mukden
Battle of Mukden
One of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I, the , the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria...
in 1905.
He later served as head of the Army War College
Army War College (Japan)
The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo to modernize and Westernize the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including prime ministers during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates of the college....
and as head of Japanese forces in Taiwan. He was ennobled with the rank of danshaku (baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
) under the kazoku
Kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...
peerage system.