Kuroki Tamemoto | |
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General Kuroki Tamemoto
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Born |
Satsuma, Japan |
3 May 1844
Died | 3 February 1923 Tokyo, Japan |
(aged 78)
Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
Years of service | 1864–1869 1871–1909 |
Rank | General |
Commands held |
IJA 6th Division IJA 1st Army |
Battles/wars |
Boshin War First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
Count Tamemoto Kuroki GCMG (黒木 為楨?, 3 May 1844 – 3 February 1923) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the head of the Japanese First Army during the Russo-Japanese War; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the Battle of Liaoyang, the Battle of Shaho and the Battle of Mukden.
Born as the son of a samurai in the Satsuma domain in southern Kyūshū in what is now Kagoshima prefecture, Kuroki fought for the Shimazu clan against the Tokugawa Shogunate forces in the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration. He led a platoon of infantry of the 1st Battalion at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi and later at the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle and was appointed a lieutenant in February 1869.
In July 1871, Kuroki was commissioned a captain in the 1st Battalion, now part of the newly established Imperial Japanese Army. Advancements followed in rapid succession. He was appointed to the 1st Grenadier Battalion in August 1872 and promoted to major. In February 1875, aged only 31, he was appointed commander of the 12th Hiroshima Infantry Regiment and promoted to lieutenant-colonel.