Togo Heihachiro
Togō Heihachirō 東郷 平八郎 (1846 - 1934) [hA'hächirO' tO'gO] was a Japanese admiral and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. Alternative spellings are Tougou Heihachirou, Togo Hehachiro, Togo Heihatiro.Born in Satsuma province (modern-day Kagoshima prefecture) to the samurai family of Shimazu, Togo studied naval science in England from 1871 to 1878. In 1894 as a captain of cruiser Naniwa he sank the Kowshing, a British transport ship working for Chinese navy, thereby precipitating the Sino-Japanese War.
After the war his career was not so prominent, but the naval minister Yamamoto Gonnohyoe appointed him chief admiral of the Grand Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. That astonisched many people including Emperor Meiji who asked Yamamoto why Togo was appointed. Yamamoto replied to the emperor, "since Togo is a good fortune guy."
In the Russo-Japanese War he defeated the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in 1904 and destroyed the Russian Baltic fleet in 1905 at the battle of Tsushima. This historic battle broke Russian strength in East Asia. Later he was chief of the naval general staff and a member of the supreme war council.
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.
External links