Kawakami Soroku

Japanese: 川上操六 - かわかみ・そうろく

Year of death: May 11, 1899 (Meiji 32)
Year of birth: November 11, 1848 (December 6, 1848)
He was an army officer who played an active role in the Meiji period. He was the third son of Kawakami Denzaemon, a samurai of the Satsuma (Kagoshima) clan. In 1866, he was selected as a trainer at the Zoshikan, and the following year, when the Western-style military system was implemented in the clan, he was appointed as a squad leader, marking his first steps as a soldier. During the Boshin War, he fought in Toba-Fushimi, Echigo, Dewa, and Hakodate, where he achieved great success and was awarded the Military Prize. In 1871, he became a lieutenant attached to the Goshinpeitai, the first regular army and the origin of the Konoe Division, and in 1876 he was promoted to major and became the commander of the Konoe battalion, and then served in the General Staff Bureau, a rapid promotion due to his origins as a Satsuma faction soldier. However, in 1810, the Satsuma Rebellion broke out, and he went to Kumamoto Castle to convey the imperial order to carry out the expedition on behalf of the General Staff. Upon receiving this, the commander of the garrison, Tani Kanjo, decided to hold siege and fight against the Satsuma army. Kawakami also remained behind and commanded the 13th Infantry Regiment, fighting against his brothers and friends from his hometown with a heavy heart. In 1819, he became Chief of Staff of the Sendai Garrison, and in 1920, he became a colonel and commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guard. In 1821, he accompanied Army Minister Oyama Iwao to Europe with Miura Goro and Katsura Taro, and inspected the military systems and armaments of each country. He returned to Japan the following year and was soon promoted to major general and became deputy chief of the General Staff, becoming one of the army's top leaders. In 1822, the position of deputy chief was abolished, but from January 1820, he studied in Germany with Nogi Maresuke for a year and a half, and was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn military thought directly from Moltke and Waldésee. After returning to Japan, the General Staff Office regulations were revised, and he was appointed Vice Chief of Staff from March 1897 to 1906. Under the supervision of two Chiefs of Staff, Prince Arisugawa Taruhito and Prince Komatsu Akihito, he worked to strengthen and make the General Staff Office independent, and to improve military preparations in preparation for the First Sino-Japanese War. Until his second appointment as Vice Chief, the General Staff Office was similar to a bureau of the Ministry of the Army, and did not even have a permanent staffing, but the revision of the regulations in 1891 secured a staffing level, greatly expanded the scope of jurisdiction and authority, and made it an institution parallel to the Ministry of the Army. During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1995), he was appointed Senior Staff Officer and Inspector General of Logistics at the Imperial General Headquarters, and when the Government-General for the Expedition to China was established in Jinzhou in March 1893, he became Chief of Staff and contributed to Japan's victory. In January 1896, he was appointed Chief of Staff for the first time, and established the First and Second Bureaus in the General Staff Office, where he gathered the brightest minds who would lead the next generation, solidifying the position of the headquarters. In September of the same year, he became a general. <References> Tokutomi Ichiro, "General Kawakami Soroku"

(Tanaka Hiromi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治32.5.11(1899)
生年：嘉永1.11.11(1848.12.6)
明治期に活躍した陸軍軍人。薩摩(鹿児島)藩士川上伝左衛門の3男。慶応2(1866)年造士館の師員に選抜され,翌年藩に洋式兵制が施行された際に分隊長に任じられたのが軍人としての第一歩。戊辰戦争では鳥羽伏見,越後,出羽,箱館に転戦,功績をあげ武人賞典禄を受けた。明治4(1871)年最初の陸軍常備軍で近衛師団の起源でもある御親兵隊付の中尉となり,9年少佐に進んで近衛大隊長,次いで参謀局出仕,薩摩閥出身である故の駆け足昇進である。ところが10年西南戦争が勃発し,参謀本部を代表し征討の勅命を伝えるため熊本城に赴き,これを受けた鎮台司令官谷干城は籠城し薩軍と戦うことを決意,川上も残り歩兵第13連隊を指揮,断腸の思いで兄弟,同郷友人相手に戦った。14年仙台鎮台参謀長,15年大佐,近衛歩兵第1連隊長。17年には陸軍卿大山巌に従い,三浦梧楼,桂太郎らと共に渡欧,各国の兵制や軍備を視察,翌年帰国し間もなく少将に進み参謀本部次長となり,陸軍首脳のひとりになった。19年に次長職が一旦廃止されたが,20年1月から1年半,乃木希典と共にドイツに留学,モルトケ,ワルデーゼーから直接軍事思想を学ぶ機会を得たのは幸運であった。帰国後参謀本部条例の改正あり,22年3月から31年まで参謀次長に任じ,有栖川宮熾仁親王,小松宮彰仁親王のふたりの宮様参謀総長の下で参謀本部の独立と強化,日清戦争に備えた軍備の充実などに努めた。2度目の次長就任まで,参謀本部は陸軍省の1局に似た位置にあり,常設の定員さえなかったが,26年の条例改正により定員を確保し,所管事項および権限を大幅に拡張し陸軍省に並列する機関になった。日清戦争(1894～95)中は大本営上席参謀兼兵站総監に任じ,28年3月征清総督府が金州に置かれると参謀長となり,日本の勝利に貢献した。31年1月初めて参謀総長に就任,参謀本部に第1局,第2局を置き,これに次代を担う俊才を集め同本部の地位を確固不動のものとした。同9月大将。<参考文献>徳富猪一郎『陸軍大将川上操六』

(田中宏巳)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Tetsutaro Kawakami

>>: Sumio Kawakami