Uryū Sotokichi
Kanazawa, Kaga domain, Japan | |
|---|---|
| Died | November 11, 1937 (aged 80) [1] Tokyo, Japan |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Service |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1871–1927 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands |
|
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |
|
| Spouse(s) | [2] |
Baron Uryū Sotokichi (瓜生 外吉, 2 January 1857 – 11 November 1937) was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active in the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay and the Battle of Tsushima. His name has sometimes been transliterated as "Uriu Sotokichi", or "Uriu Sotokitchi", a transliteration of older kana spelling. The spelling is different by current accepted methods of transliteration, but the pronunciation is the same as the modern spelling for Uryū (うりゅう). He was a lifelong proponent of better ties with the United States.
Biography
Uryū was the second son of a
Commissioned as a
After the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, Uryū briefly commanded the new cruiser Akitsushima, followed by his old ship Fusō.
On 28 December 1897, Uryū faced a court-martial over a collision in the Seto Inland Sea in stormy weather between the cruisers Itsukushima and Matsushima, and was sentenced to prison for three months from 5 April 1898. However, this did not hurt his career, as he was appointed captain of Matsushima on 1 February 1899, and the battleship Yashima on 16 June 1898.
He became a rear admiral and Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff on 21 May 1900.
Uryū was promoted to vice admiral on 6 June 1904. During the Russo-Japanese War, he commanded the Second Squadron at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay which resulted in the destruction of the Russian cruiser Varyag and gunboat Korietz.[3] For his war service, he was decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class) and the Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class) in 1906.
He was made commander of the Sasebo Naval District on 22 November 1906, he was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system on 21 September 1907.[4]
Appointed commander of the
His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.
Decorations
- 1892 –
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 6th class [5] - 1896 -
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th class [6] - 1901 –
Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class [7] - 1906 –
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun [8] - 1906 –
Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class [8] - 1937 –
Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers[9]
Notes
- ^ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy
- ISBN 978-0-393-35278-8.
- ^ a b c Kowner, Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, p. 406.
- ^ 『官報』第7272号「授爵敍任及辞令」September 23, 1907
- ^ 『官報』第2833号「叙任及辞令」December 6, 1892
- ^ 『官報』第4027号「叙任及辞令」November 30, 1896
- ^ 『官報』第5548号「叙任及辞令」December 28, 1901
- ^ a b 『官報』号外「叙任及辞令」December 30, 1906
- ^ 『官報』第3260号「叙任及辞令」November 12, 1937
References
- Andidora, Ronald (2000). Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31266-4.
- Dupuy, Trevor N (1992). Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 1-85043-569-3.
- Jukes, Geoffrey (2002). The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-446-7.
- ISBN 0-8108-4927-5.
External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Uryu Sotokichi". Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved 2020-03-04.