Togo Heihachiro

Fleet Admiral Count Tōgō Heihachirō (東郷平八郎 Tōgō Heihachirō OM, January 27 1848 - 30 May 1934) was a Japanese Admiral and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was called 'the Nelson of the East'.

Early life

Togo was born on December 22 1847 (by the Western calendar) in the Kachiyacho district of the city of Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (modern-day Kagoshima prefecture), in feudal Japan. Togo's father was a samurai, serving under the house of Shimazu, and he had three brothers.

Kachiyacho was one of Kagoshima's samurai housing-districts, in which many other influential figures of the Meiji period were born, such as Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi. They rose to prominent positions under the Meiji Emperor partly because the Shimazu clan had been a decisive military and political factor in the Boshin war against the Bakufu and the restoration of Imperial power.

Tokugawa conflicts (1863-1869)

Togo's first combat experience was at the age of 17 during the Anglo-Satsuma War (August 1863), in which Kagoshima was bombarded by the British Royal Navy to punish the Satsuma daimyo for the murder of Charles Lennox Richardson on the Tōkaidō highway the previous year (the Namamugi Incident), and the Japanese refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation.

The following year, Satsuma established a navy, in which Togo and two of his brothers enrolled. In January, 1868 during the Boshin war, Togo was assigned to a paddle-wheel steam warship, Kasuga, which participated to the Naval Battle of Awa, near Osaka, against the navy of the Bakufu, the first Japanese naval battle between two modern fleets.

As the conflict spread to northern Japan, Togo participated as a third-class officer aboard the Kasuga in the last battles against the remnants of the Bakufu forces, the Naval Battle of Miyako and the Naval Battle of Hakodate (1869).

Studies in Britain (1871-1878)

Togo studied naval science for seven years in England as an apprentice officer, from 1871 to 1878, together with sixteen (or eleven?) other Japanese students. Togo visited London, at that time the largest and most populous city in the world. Many things were strange to Japanese eyes; the round houses made out of stone, the 'number and massiveness of the buildings', 'the furnishings of a commonplace European room', 'the displays in the butchers' shop windows: it took them several days to become accustomed to such an abundance of meat.' The Japanese group was separated and sent to English boardinghouses for individual instruction in English language, customs and manners. 'Togo was sent to Plymouth'. Next, Togo went to train on the HMS Worchester as a cadet, in 1872. Here, Togo found his cadet rations 'inadequate': "I swallowed my small rations in a moment. I formed the habit of dipping my bread in my tea and eating a great deal of it, to the surprise of my English comrades." This was attributed possibly to Togo's 'Far Eastern metabolism', the lack of rice, 'or that some other essential element was missing; or perhaps the climatic differences sharpened his appetite.' Perhaps the excitement of his adventure contributed, or maybe Togo just liked the food. Togo's comrades called him 'Johnny Chinaman', being unfamiliar with the 'Orient', and not knowing the difference between Asiatic peoples. 'The young samurai did not like that, and on more than one occasion he put an end to ^* by blows.' Togo also surprised these young Englishmen by graduating second in the class. During 1875, Togo travelled around the world on the British training- ship Hampshire, leaving in February and staying seventy days at sea without a port call until reaching Melbourne, eating only salted meat and ship's bisquits. Togo 'observed the strange animals on the Southern continent.' On his return, Togo had sailed thirty thousand miles. Togo suffered a strange illness which severely threatened his eyesight: 'the patient asked his medical advisers to "try everything", and some of their experiments were extremely painful.' Mr. Capel commented later, 'If', he wrote, 'I had not seen with my own eyes what a Japanese can suffer without complaint, I should often have been disinclined to believe....But, having observed Togo, I believe all of them.' The Harley Street ophthalmologists saved his eyesight. Togo studied in Cambridge (though not at the University) during this time, while living with Reverend A.S. Capel. Togo then went to the Naval Preparatory School in Portsmouth, and to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. During his stay, the IJN placed orders in Britain for three warships. Togo made use of the opportunity to apply his training, supervising (watching carefully) the construction of the Fuso at the Samuda Brothers shipyard on the Isle of Dogs.

Togo finally came back to Japan on 22 May, 1878 onboard another of the newly-purchased British-built ships, the Hiei.

Franco-Chinese war (1884-1885)

Back in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Togo received several commands, first as captain of Daini Teibo, and then Amagi. During the Franco-Chinese War (1884-1885), Togo, onboard Amagi, closely followed the actions of the French fleet under Admiral Courbet.

Togo also observed the ground combat of the French forces against the Chinese in Formosa (Taiwan), under the guidance of Joffre, future Commander-in-Chief of French forces during the First World War.

Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895)

In 1894, at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, Togo, as a captain of the cruiser Naniwa, sank the British transport ship Kowshing which was working for the Chinese navy. A report into the incident was sent by Suematsu Kencho to Mutsu Munemitsu.

The sinking almost caused a diplomatic conflict between Japan and Great Britain, but it was finally recognized by British jurists as in total conformity with International Law, making Togo famous overnight for his mastery of contentious issues involving foreign countries and regulations. The British ship had been ferrying hundreds of Chinese soldiers towards Korea, and these soldiers had mutinied and taken over the ship upon the appearance and threats from the Japanese ships.

After the end of the Sino-Japanese war, Togo's career was not so prominent. He was successively president of the Naval Staff College, commander of the Sasebo Naval College, and commander of the Standing Fleet.

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

In 1903, the Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyoe appointed Togo Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This astonished many people, including Emperor Meiji, who asked Yamamoto why Togo was appointed. Yamamoto replied to the emperor, "Because Togo is a man of good fortune".

During the Russo-Japanese War, Togo defeated the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in 1904, and destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet in 1905, at the Battle of Tsushima, shocking the world with the strategic upset. This historic battle broke Russian strength in East Asia, and is also said to have triggered various uprisings in the Russian Navy (1905 uprisings in Vladivostock, the Battleship Potemkin uprising), contributing to the Russian Revolution of 1905. There was an investigation of the Russian naval leadership of the expedition, which Togo had destroyed or captured, into the reasons behind the utter defeat. The Russian commander of the destroyed Baltic fleet, Admiral Zinovi Rozhdestvenski (who was badly wounded in the battle) attempted to take full blame for the disaster, and the grateful authorities (and rulers of Russia) acquitted him at his trial. However, they 'scape-goated' Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov, who had tried to affix blame to the Russian Government. Nebogatov was found guilty, and eventually was sentenced to ten years close confinement in a fortress.

Later life

Later, Togo was Chief of the Naval General Staff and was made a Count. He also was a member of the Supreme War Council.

In 1913, Togo received the honorific title of Fleet Admiral.

From 1914 to 1924, he was then put in charge of the education of Prince Hirohito, the future Showa Emperor.

In 1940, shortly after his death, Togo Shrine was built in Harajuku, Tokyo in dedication to Togo Heihachiro. There he is celebrated as a shinto kami. There is another Togo shrine at Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka. The only existent statue to him in Japan resides in Ontaku Shrine, in Agano, Saitama.

In 1906 He was made a Member of the British Order of Merit by King Edward VII.

References

'The Silent Admiral: Togo Heihachiro (1848-1934) and Britain' by Kiyoshi Ikeda, Chapter 9, Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, edited by Ian Nish (Volume One, Japan Library, 1994) ISBN 1873410271
'Admiral Togo', Georges Blond; The Macmillan Co., New York (1960)

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