Fukushima Yasumasa

Early foreign travels

During the next years, he traveled extensively, visiting

Fukushima subsequently saw service in the Boxer Rebellion (1900), where he was in command of Japanese forces in Tianjin, as well as the Foreign Legation. Afterwards, he returned briefly to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy to study under the German General Jakob Meckel.

Further travels and foreign honors

As a General Staff officer after the war, he visited

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) Fukushima traveled through Saskatchewan, Canada on the way to New York for the purpose of negotiating financial assistance for the war. He stopped his special train just east of Regina, Saskatchewan to view the prairies. The siding where he stopped was named Fukushima in his honour.[3]

Honors in Japan

Fukushima also served with distinction in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), and in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905).

In 1907, Fukushima was elevated to the title of danshaku (

Poetry and death

Fukushima was on good terms with fellow poet General Akashi Motojiro, and although not close friends, the two men shared ideas on the long term needs of the Japanese secret services in the Asian area. Fukushima even composed a poem titled "From Fallen Petal to Rising Star", in which he honored a prostitute who became a patriot through her intelligence-gathering activities.

Fukushima died at age 66 and his grave is located at Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo. The Matsumoto City Museum in Matsumoto, Nagano, preserves some of his personal artifacts, including his riding crop.

References