Yamashita Gentarō

Baron Yamashita Gentarō
Japanese Admiral Yamashita Gentarō
Native name	山下 源太郎
Born	(1863-07-30)July 30, 1863 Yonezawa, Dewa Province, Japan
Died	February 18, 1931(1931-02-18) (aged 67) Japan
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1879 - 1928
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Iwate Imperial Japanese Naval Academy Sasebo Naval District IJN 1st Fleet, Combined Fleet
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War World War I
Awards	Order of the Golden Kite (3rd class)

Baron Yamashita Gentarō (山下 源太郎^?, 30 July 1863 – 18 February 1931) was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy.

Born in the Yonezawa Domain, Dewa Province (present day Yamagata prefecture), Yamashita graduated from the 10th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1883, ranked 4th out of 27 cadets. After midshipman service in the ironclad warship Ryūjō and the cruiser Asama, he was assigned to a number of ships in the early navy, including the corvette Jingei, the ironclad warship Fusō, the corvette Kaimon, the gunboat Atago, and the cruiser Takachiho. He then received advanced naval artillery training, and was assigned to the corvette Hiei as the chief gunnery officer in 1891, followed by assignments on Kaimon and the corvette Musashi.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Yamashita served as the chief gunnery officer on the corvette Kongō, followed by the Akitsushima. At the end of the war, Yamashita had a number of administrative assignments ashore.