Yoshinori Shirakawa

Yoshinori Shirakawa
General Yoshinori Shirakawa
Born	January 24, 1869 Iyo, Ehime, Japan
Died	May 26, 1932(1932-05-26) (aged 64) Shanghai, China
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1890–1932
Rank	General
Commands held	11th Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division Kwantung Army Shanghai Expeditionary Army
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War World War I
Awards	Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class) Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
Other work	Minister of War

Yoshinori Shirakawa (白川 義則, Shirakawa Yoshinori^?, January 24, 1869 – May 26, 1932) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.

Shirakawa was born to a samurai class family in Iyo, Ehime, domain in Shikoku (present day Ehime Prefecture). He attended military preparatory schools as a youth, specializing in military engineering and served with the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the 1st class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1890 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant the following year.

Shirakawa entered the Army Staff College in 1893, but was forced to leave the following year due to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. During the war, he was promoted to first lieutenant. He returned to graduate from the Army Staff College and was promoted to captain in 1899. Shirakawa was then assigned as commander of the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment. In 1902, he was assigned to the Imperial Guards.

Promoted to major in 1903, Shirakawa returned to command the IJA 21st Infantry Regiment during the Russo-Japanese War. During the war, he was promoted to become Chief of Staff of the IJA 13th Division. Shirakawa became a lieutenant colonel in 1907, colonel in 1909, and commander of the IJA 34th Infantry Regiment.