Kan'in Kotohito

Prince Kan'in Kotohito

Prince Kan'in Kotohito ( Japanese 閑 院 宮 載 仁 親王 , Kan'in-no-miya Kotohito-shinnō ; born November 10, 1865 in Kyoto ; † May 20, 1945 ) was a Japanese General Field Marshal ( Gensui ) of the Imperial Japanese Army , who was Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army (Sanbō Honbu) between 1931 and 1940 .

Life

Military career, promotion to field marshal and chief of staff

Prince Kan'in Kotohito and was a sixteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie born, the head of the Fushimi-no-miya -branch (Shinnōke) of the imperial family was. His siblings included the princes Kuni Asahiko , Komatsu Akihito , Yamashina Akira , Higashifushimi Yorihito , Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa , Kitashirakawa Satonari , Kachō Hirotsune and Fushimi Sadanaru . His sister Princess Yoriko was the mother of the Empress Shōken .

He himself began officer training at the Army Officer School (Rikugun Shikan Gakkō) in 1887 , which he completed in 1881. He then became a military attaché in France and, on his return, attended the Army College (Rikugun Daigakkō) , which he graduated in 1894. He then took part in the First Sino-Japanese War. After his promotion to lieutenant colonel in November 1897, he became commander of the 1st cavalry regiment and held this post until October 28, 1899. After that, he undertook a study trip to Europe between October 28, 1899 and January 25, 1900 . November 1899 promoted to colonel before he was transferred to the General Staff of the Army on January 25, 1900 on his return.

After his promotion to Major General on November 3, 1901, Prince Kan'in Kotohito was in command of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade from November 3, 1901 to September 21, 1904 and took part in the Russo-Japanese War with them. He was then transferred to the headquarters of the occupation army in Manchuria on November 21, 1904 , where he was promoted to lieutenant general on November 3, 1904 . It was then used from May to December 20, 1905 in the Imperial Headquarters and subsequently between December 20, 1905 and February 3, 1906 in the Army General Staff. He then held the post of Commander of the 1st Division (Dai-ichi shidan) as the successor to Lieutenant General Iida Shunsuke from February 3, 1906 until his replacement by Lieutenant General Kigoshi Yasutsuna on September 6, 1911 .

Then Prince Kan'in Kotohito took over on September 6, 1911 the post of commander of the 1st Guard Division of the Imperial Guard (Konoe shidan) , which he held until November 27, 1912. After his promotion to general on November 27, 1912, he became a member of the Supreme War Council (Gunji Sangiin) , of which he was a member until his death. On December 12, 1919 he was awarded the title of General Field Marshal ( Gensui ) of the Imperial Japanese Army . Most recently he was on December 23, 1931 as the successor to General Kanaya Hanzo Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army (Sanbō Honbu) and held this office until October 3, 1940, whereupon General Sugiyama Hajime succeeded him.

marriage and family

His marriage to Sanjō Chieko, a daughter of Sanjō Sanetomi , on December 19, 1891 resulted in five daughters and two sons, including Prince Kan'in Haruhito , who served as major general in the Imperial Japanese Army.

Web link

• Entry in Generals.dk

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kan'in is the family name, Kotohito the first name.