Kataoka Shichirō

Infobox Military Person
name=Baron Kataoka Shichirō
lived=12 January 1854 - 11 January 1920
placeofbirth=Kagoshima, Satsuma, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption= Japanese Admiral Kataoka Shichirō
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1871 - 1918
rank=Admiral
commands=corvette "Kongō", cruiser "Naniwa"
IJN Third Fleet
IJN First Fleet
unit=
battles=First Sino-Japanese War
oConquest of Taiwan
Russo-Japanese War
oBattle of the Yellow Sea
oBattle of Tsushima
oSakhalin Expedition
awards=
family=
laterwork=

Baron nihongo|Kataoka Shichirō|片岡七郎|Kataoka Shichirō|extra=12 January 1854 – 11 January 1920 was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Biography

Early career

Born to a "samurai" family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima prefecture), Kataoka entered the 3rd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1871, and served as a midshipman on the "Tsukuba".

Kataoka, accompanied Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu as an exchange student to Germany. He became fluent in German, French and English during his 18 months abroad and graduated with the top honors in his class. He later trained with future Admiral Yamamoto Gonnohyoe onboard the German ships "Vineta" and "Leipzig" from 1877 to 1878.

Serving as a lieutenant in various fleet posts from 1881 to 1886, his first command was that of the "Tenryū" on 20 June 1882. Kataoka also served as an instructor for two years at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy before returning to Germany in 1889 for advanced studies. Following the completion of his studies, Kataoka was assigned to Berlin, Germany as a naval attaché, with his primary duties as providing assistance to Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito and Prince Yamashina Kikumaro during their travels in Europe. He was recalled to Japan at the start of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894.

First Sino-Japanese War

Appointed to the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff during the early months of the war, Kataoka was soon placed in combat command of the armored corvette "Kongō" and later of the cruiser "Naniwa" during the Pescadores expedition and conquest of Taiwan between late 1894 and early 1895.

Following the war, Kataoka served on a number of various fleet and shore posts and was promoted to rear admiral in 1899, and later vice admiral in 1903. He turned down a posting as Resident-General of Korea and also turned down a posting as Governor-General of Taiwan, stating that as a navy man, he did not have the ability to handle things on land. In reality, he had no interest in politics at all.

Russo-Japanese War

During the opening months of the Russo-Japanese War, Kataoka was placed in command of the IJN 3rd Fleet, a collection of antiquated ships nicknamed the "Funny Fleet". Despite the motley assortment of obsolete ships, Kataoka won distinction commanding the fifth and sixth battle divisions from the cruiser "Nisshin" during the Battle of the Yellow Sea and later from the cruiser "Itsukushima" during the Battle of Tsushima. He also led the naval expedition to seize Sakhalin prior to the conclusion of the Treaty of Portsmouth.

A year after the war, Kataoka became chief of the Navy Ministry's Department of Ships.

In 1907, Kataoka was elevated to the title of "danshaku" (baron) under the "kazoku" peerage system, and was promoted to full admiral and made commander-in-chief of the IJN 1st Fleet in 1910, before being placed on the reserve list the following year.

Kataoka lived in retirement until his death in 1920. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery in Tokyo.

References

Books

*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 = Paine
first = S.C.M
authorlink =
year = 2002
chapter =
title = The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy
publisher = Cambridge University Press
location = London
id = ISBN 0-521-81714-5
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-8047-4977-9
*cite book
last = Warner
first = Denis
coauthors = Warner, Peggy
year = 1974
title = The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War', 1904-1905
publisher = Charterhouse
location =
id = AISN B000OLLNGA

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px03.htm#a001
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-08

Notes