General who led the expeditionary force at Shanghai and took Nanjing; hanged for the Nanjing Massacre
Born in Nagoya to an impoverished samurai family, he fought in the Russo-Japanese War and became the Japanese Army’s foremost expert on China and an ardent pan-Asianist, playing a key role in founding the Greater Asia Association. Retired in 1935, he was recalled in August 1937 to lead the forces at Shanghai, and after winning that battle persuaded the high command to advance on Nanjing. The troops under his command who took Nanjing on 13 December committed the Nanjing Massacre. He left the army in 1938; after the war the International Military Tribunal for the Far East convicted him of war crimes and he was hanged in 1948. He was enshrined at Yasukuni in 1978.
Activities and affiliations
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1937–1938
Japan state institutionsCommander of the Central China Area ArmyMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1904Fought in the Russo-Japanese War
- 1922–1924Adviser to Zhang Zuolin at Harbin; intelligence work for the Kwantung Army
- 1935Retired from active duty
- 1937Recalled to command at Shanghai; took Nanjing in December
- 1938Left the army; cabinet councillor
- 1948Convicted by the Tokyo tribunal and hanged