Isamu Takeshita
Encyclopedia
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
. He was also a diplomat whose accomplishments included helping end the Russo-Japanese War
favorably for Japan
and obtaining former German possessions in the Pacific for Japan following World War I
. In addition, he was a patron (and practitioner) of the Japanese martial arts
, especially judo
, sumo
, and aikido
.
class family in Kagoshima, Satsuma domain (present-day Kagoshima prefecture
), he was adopted into the Takeshita family as a boy.
in 1892, and he graduated third in a class of eighty students. He entered naval service as a midshipman
in 1889; his first ship was the armored corvette
Kongo
. He In 1898, he attended the Japanese Naval War College
, which had been founded that same year.
Because he was fluent in English
, Takeshita was posted overseas at various times as a naval attaché
. In October 1902, he was appointed Japan's naval attaché to the United States
. In this role, Takeshita was an active participant in negotiations mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt
that led to the Treaty of Portsmouth
, ending the Russo-Japanese War
. During 1904, he also helped Roosevelt obtain the services of judo teacher Yamashita Yoshiaki
, first for Roosevelt himself and then for the United States Naval Academy
. Takeshita's commands included the cruiser
s Suma
, Kasuga
, Izumo
, Tsukuba
and the battleship
Shikishima
.
Takeshita was a member of the Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States in 1917, the Paris Peace Conference
of 1919, and the League of Nations
. In these positions, he played a leading role in Japan's obtaining former German holdings in the Central and Western Pacific.
For these efforts, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
(1st class). Takeshita returned to Japan to accept a posting as commander-in-chief
of the Combined Fleet
on 1 December 1922, a position he held until January 1924. His subsequent billets included Commander of the Kure Naval District
. He was placed on the retired list in November 1929.
, was to stop the spread of Communism
. As for Japan's relationship with the United States, Takeshita stated that "No Japanese warship has ever crossed the Pacific except on a mission of peace," he said during a radio broadcast in San Francisco. "No Japanese soldier has ever come to these shores except on a similar mission."
In February 1937, Takeshita was appointed head of the Japanese Boy Scouts
, Sea Scouts, and YMCA
. This was part of the general militarization of Japanese sports
and athletics taking place at that time. Later that year, he was also approached about becoming the head of the Japanese Amateur Athletic Federation, but he declined this offer.
In May 1939, Takeshita became the third president of the Japan Sumo Association
. He held this post until November 1945.
In April 1941, he became head of Japan's New Sword Society. This organization supported makers of modern Japanese swords that were hand-made in the traditional fashion.
Takeshita died in Tokyo in July 1949. Takeshita Street
in Shibuya, Tokyo
takes its name from the location of Isamu Takeshita’s residence.
through his colleague at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Admiral Seikyo Asano, who was studying Daito-ryu aiki jujutsu
(the forerunner of aikido
) under Ueshiba at Ayabe. In 1925, Takeshita went to Ayabe to see Ueshiba and was so impressed that he recommended Ueshiba to Yamamoto Gonnohyoe
, a retired admiral and former Prime Minister of Japan
. This recommendation caused Yamamoto to invite Ueshiba to Tokyo
to provide demonstrations to the Japanese military and political elite. Ueshiba's stay was however interrupted by sickness and he had to return to his hometown of Tanabe.
In February 1927, Takeshita invited Ueshiba to Tokyo again, and this time, Ueshiba settled there. Takeshita's influence was such that many military officers, government officials and members of the wealthy class began practicing Ueshiba's martial art. Takeshita was not only an admirer but also an ardent practitioner of aikido, despite his age (he was almost 50). He filled notebooks with descriptions of Ueshiba's techniques, and these descriptions provide insights into the development of aikido.
In 1940, Takeshita was instrumental in providing a legal identity to Ueshiba's Kobukan organization by founding the Kobukai Foundation and becoming its first president. Also, in 1941, Takeshita used his influence to arrange a demonstration of aikido by Ueshiba at the Imperial Palace
. The demonstration took place in front of the Imperial family
. Although ill, Ueshiba gave a spectacular exhibition, which greatly impressed the nobility.
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. He was also a diplomat whose accomplishments included helping end the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
favorably for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and obtaining former German possessions in the Pacific for Japan following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In addition, he was a patron (and practitioner) of the Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...
, especially judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
, and aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
.
Early years
Born Yamamoto Jiro into a samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
class family in Kagoshima, Satsuma domain (present-day Kagoshima prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
), he was adopted into the Takeshita family as a boy.
Naval and diplomatic career
Takeshita entered the 15th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval AcademyImperial Japanese Naval Academy
The was a school established to train officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888...
in 1892, and he graduated third in a class of eighty students. He entered naval service as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in 1889; his first ship was the armored corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Kongo
Japanese corvette Kongo (1877)
was the lead ship in the of armored sail-and-steam corvettes of the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Kongō was named after the Mount Kongō, in Nara Prefecture and the name was subsequently used for the World War II battleship , as well as the s of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense...
. He In 1898, he attended the Japanese Naval War College
Naval War College (Japan)
The was the staff college of the Imperial Japanese Navy, responsible for training officers for command positions either on warships, or in staff roles....
, which had been founded that same year.
Because he was fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Takeshita was posted overseas at various times as a naval attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
. In October 1902, he was appointed Japan's naval attaché to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In this role, Takeshita was an active participant in negotiations mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
that led to the Treaty of Portsmouth
Treaty of Portsmouth
The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 after negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine in the USA.-Negotiations:...
, ending the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. During 1904, he also helped Roosevelt obtain the services of judo teacher Yamashita Yoshiaki
Yamashita Yoshiaki
Yamashita Yoshitsugu , was the first person to have been awarded 10th degree red belt rank in Kodokan judo. He was also a pioneer of judo in the United States....
, first for Roosevelt himself and then for the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. Takeshita's commands included the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s Suma
Japanese cruiser Suma
The was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan. It was the lead ship in the Suma class, and its sister ship was the...
, Kasuga
Japanese cruiser Kasuga
was the lead ship of the armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Ansaldo Yards, Genoa, Italy, where the type was known as the...
, Izumo
Japanese cruiser Izumo
was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Although very similar to the s and , its differences are significant enough to classify it as the lead ship in the separate , which also included its sister ship, the...
, Tsukuba
Japanese cruiser Tsukuba
|-External links:**...
and the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Shikishima
Japanese battleship Shikishima
|-External links:**...
.
Takeshita was a member of the Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States in 1917, the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
of 1919, and the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. In these positions, he played a leading role in Japan's obtaining former German holdings in the Central and Western Pacific.
For these efforts, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
(1st class). Takeshita returned to Japan to accept a posting as commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Combined Fleet
Combined Fleet
The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime....
on 1 December 1922, a position he held until January 1924. His subsequent billets included Commander of the Kure Naval District
Kure Naval District
was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyūshū and Shikoku....
. He was placed on the retired list in November 1929.
Activities after retirement
During late summer 1935, Takeshita made his fifth trip to the United States. His mission was to try to explain to American audiences that Japan's invasion of China in the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, was to stop the spread of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. As for Japan's relationship with the United States, Takeshita stated that "No Japanese warship has ever crossed the Pacific except on a mission of peace," he said during a radio broadcast in San Francisco. "No Japanese soldier has ever come to these shores except on a similar mission."
In February 1937, Takeshita was appointed head of the Japanese Boy Scouts
Scout Association of Japan
The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting as boys only, the organization was known as the Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 until 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading to neutral naming...
, Sea Scouts, and YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. This was part of the general militarization of Japanese sports
Japanese militarism
refers to the ideology in the Empire of Japan that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation.-Rise of militarism :...
and athletics taking place at that time. Later that year, he was also approached about becoming the head of the Japanese Amateur Athletic Federation, but he declined this offer.
In May 1939, Takeshita became the third president of the Japan Sumo Association
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
. He held this post until November 1945.
In April 1941, he became head of Japan's New Sword Society. This organization supported makers of modern Japanese swords that were hand-made in the traditional fashion.
Takeshita died in Tokyo in July 1949. Takeshita Street
Takeshita Street
is a pedestrian-only street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. Stores on Takeshita Street include major chains such as The Body Shop, McDonald's and 7-Eleven, but most of the businesses are small independent shops that carry an array of styles...
in Shibuya, Tokyo
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
takes its name from the location of Isamu Takeshita’s residence.
Encounter with Morihei Ueshiba
Takeshita first heard of Morihei UeshibaMorihei Ueshiba
was a famous martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher".-Early years:Morihei Ueshiba was born in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan on December 14, 1883....
through his colleague at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Admiral Seikyo Asano, who was studying Daito-ryu aiki jujutsu
Daito-ryu
, originally called , is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sokaku. Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts and referred to the style he taught as "Daitō-ryū"...
(the forerunner of aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
) under Ueshiba at Ayabe. In 1925, Takeshita went to Ayabe to see Ueshiba and was so impressed that he recommended Ueshiba to Yamamoto Gonnohyoe
Yamamoto Gonnohyoe
, also called Gonnohyōe, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the 16th and 22nd Prime Minister of Japan.-Early life:...
, a retired admiral and former Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
. This recommendation caused Yamamoto to invite Ueshiba to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to provide demonstrations to the Japanese military and political elite. Ueshiba's stay was however interrupted by sickness and he had to return to his hometown of Tanabe.
In February 1927, Takeshita invited Ueshiba to Tokyo again, and this time, Ueshiba settled there. Takeshita's influence was such that many military officers, government officials and members of the wealthy class began practicing Ueshiba's martial art. Takeshita was not only an admirer but also an ardent practitioner of aikido, despite his age (he was almost 50). He filled notebooks with descriptions of Ueshiba's techniques, and these descriptions provide insights into the development of aikido.
Role in the promotion of aikido
In 1935, Takeshita gave a demonstration of Ueshiba's art at the first Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai (Society for the Promotion of Japanese Classical Martial Arts) demonstration. Later that same year, Takeshita gave public demonstrations of aikido in Seattle, Washington and Washington, D.C; this was the introduction of aikido to the United States.In 1940, Takeshita was instrumental in providing a legal identity to Ueshiba's Kobukan organization by founding the Kobukai Foundation and becoming its first president. Also, in 1941, Takeshita used his influence to arrange a demonstration of aikido by Ueshiba at the Imperial Palace
Kyoko
is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko.-Possible Writings:The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子...
. The demonstration took place in front of the Imperial family
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...
. Although ill, Ueshiba gave a spectacular exhibition, which greatly impressed the nobility.