Yoshinori Shirakawa

Infobox Military Person
name= Yoshinori Shirakawa
lived= 24 January 1869 - 26 May 1932
placeofbirth=Iyo, Ehime, Japan
placeofdeath= Shanghai, China


caption=General Yoshinori Shirakawa
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears=1890 -1932
rank=General
commands=IJA 13th Division, IJA 11th Division, IJA 1st Division, Kwantung Army, China Expeditionary Army
unit=
battles= First Sino-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
World War I
awards=Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class)
Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
family=
laterwork=Minister of Warnihongo|Yoshinori Shirakawa |白川 義則| Shirakawa Yoshinori|extra= 24 January 1869 - 26 May 1932 was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.

Biography

Shirakawa was born to a "samurai" class family in Iyo, Ehime domain in Shikoku (present day Ehime prefecture. He attended military preparatory schools as a youth, specializing in military engineering and served with the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the 1st class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1890 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant the following year.

Shirakawa entered the Army Staff College in 1893, but was forced to leave the following year due to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. During the war, he was promoted to first lieutenant. He returned to graduate from the Army Staff College was promoted to captain in 1899. Shirakawa was then assigned as commander of the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment. In 1902, he was assigned to the Imperial Guards.

Promoted to major in 1903, he returned to command the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment during the Russo-Japanese War. During the war, he was promoted to become Chief of Staff of the IJA 13th Division. Shirakawa became a lieutenant colonel in 1907, colonel in 1909, and commander of the IJA 34th Infantry Regiment. [Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II]

In June 1911, Shirakawa became Chief of Staff of the IJA 11th Division, and was promoted to major general later that year. From 1913-1915, he was commander of Japanese forces in central China.

During World War I, he was commander of the IJA 9th Infantry Brigade. He served as Head of the Personnel Bureau in the Ministry of War from 1916-1919, and after his promotion to lieutenant general in 1919, as Commandant of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. In 1921, he was given a combat command again, as commander of the IJA 11th Division, and from 1922 as commander of the IJA 1st Division.

From 1922 - 1923, Shirakawa served as Vice-Minister of War under General Hanzo Yamanashi. After briefly serving as Head of Army Aeronautical Department, Shirakawa was appointed Commander in Chief of the Kwangtung Army from 1923-1926. [Wendel, Axis History Factbook ]

He subsequently served on the Supreme War Council (Japan) from 1926-1932, and was Minister of War from 1927-1929.

With tensions in China rapidly ramping up towards open war, Shirakawa was dispatched to China on 25 February 1932 to become commander in chief of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army. However, two months later, on 29 April 1932 he was severely injured in a bomb set by Korean nationalist Yoon Bong-Gil and died on May 26. [Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography]

Shirakawa was posthumously awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class with Paulowana cluster, Order of the Golden Kite 2nd class and elevated to the rank of "danshaku" (baron) under the "kazoku" peerage system. His grave is at his hometown of Matsuyama, and also at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

References

Books

*cite book
last = Bix
first = Herbert B
year = 2001
title = Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
publisher = Harper Perennial
location =
id = ISBN 0-06-093130-2
*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 = Sims
first = Richard
authorlink =
year = 2001
title = Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000
publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
location =
id = ISBN 0312239157

External links

*cite web
last = Ammenthorp
first = Steen
url = http://www.generals.dk/general/Shirakawa/Yoshinori/Japan.html
title = Shirakawa Yoshinori
work = The Generals of World War II
*cite web
last = Wendel
first = Marcus
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6756
title = List of Commanders of the Kwantung Army
work = Axis History Factbook

Notes