In 1870, he enrolled in the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and as a cadet was part of the team which brought the corvetteTsukuba from its shipyards in England back to Japan in 1871. Over the next 20 years, he rose steadily through the ranks, serving on the paddle steamer warship Kasuga (1876), corvetteNisshin (1876), Fusō (1878), Kenko (1879), Ryūjō (1880), and Asama (1881). In 1882, he was assigned to the Shipbuilding Bureau of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, but continued to simultaneously serve on Fusō (1884) and Amagi (1884) and Seiki (1885).
Hidaka returned to the Navy General Staff in 1886, and was sent to Europe in 1887–1888. He returned to sea as captain of the corvette Kongō, his first command, in 1890. He was captain of Musashi in 1891 and Fusō in 1892. After a year as commandant of the Naval Artillery School from 1893 to 1894, he was appointed captain of the cruiser Hashidate during the First Sino-Japanese War, participating in the Battle of the Yalu. He was then assigned to command Matsushima in 1895, a post he held simultaneously with that of commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, since Matsushima was under repairs for damages suffered during the war for most of this time.
Hidaka was ennobled with the title of baron (danshaku) under the kazoku peerage system in 1907, and was promoted to full admiral in 1908. He retired from active service in 1909, and from the reserves in 1918. He died in 1932.
Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN1-85043-569-3.
Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-192-7.
Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN0-8047-4977-9.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sōnojō Hidaka.
Nishida, Hiroshi. "Imperial Japanese Navy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
hidaka, sōnojō, baron, 日高, 壮之丞, april, 1848, july, 1932, admiral, early, modern, imperial, japanese, navy, known, primarily, role, first, sino, japanese, baron, japanese, admiral, baron, born, 1848, april, 1848kagoshima, satsuma, domain, japandiedjuly, 1932, 1. Baron Hidaka Sōnojō 日高 壮之丞 26 April 1848 24 July 1932 was an admiral of the early modern Imperial Japanese Navy known primarily for his role in the First Sino Japanese War Baron Hidaka SōnojōJapanese Admiral Baron Hidaka SōnojōBorn 1848 04 26 April 26 1848Kagoshima Satsuma Domain JapanDiedJuly 24 1932 1932 07 24 aged 84 1 Tokyo JapanAllegiance Empire of JapanService wbr branch Imperial Japanese NavyYears of service1870 1909RankAdmiralBattles warsFirst Sino Japanese War Russo Japanese WarIn this Japanese name the surname is Hidaka Contents 1 Biography 2 In popular culture 3 References 3 1 Books 4 External links 5 NotesBiography editHidaka was the second son of a samurai in the service of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain and was born in Kagoshima In 1870 he enrolled in the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and as a cadet was part of the team which brought the corvette Tsukuba from its shipyards in England back to Japan in 1871 Over the next 20 years he rose steadily through the ranks serving on the paddle steamer warship Kasuga 1876 corvette Nisshin 1876 Fusō 1878 Kenko 1879 Ryujō 1880 and Asama 1881 In 1882 he was assigned to the Shipbuilding Bureau of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff but continued to simultaneously serve on Fusō 1884 and Amagi 1884 and Seiki 1885 Hidaka returned to the Navy General Staff in 1886 and was sent to Europe in 1887 1888 He returned to sea as captain of the corvette Kongō his first command in 1890 He was captain of Musashi in 1891 and Fusō in 1892 After a year as commandant of the Naval Artillery School from 1893 to 1894 he was appointed captain of the cruiser Hashidate during the First Sino Japanese War participating in the Battle of the Yalu He was then assigned to command Matsushima in 1895 a post he held simultaneously with that of commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy since Matsushima was under repairs for damages suffered during the war for most of this time Hidaka was promoted to rear admiral in 1896 and became commander in chief of the Readiness Fleet in 1898 He was promoted to vice admiral in 1900 and became commander of the Takeshiki Guard District He returned to command the Readiness Fleet again from 1902 to 1903 and was then appointed commander of the Maizuru Naval District With the start of the Russo Japanese War Hidaka was in line for promotion to command the Combined Fleet against the Imperial Russian Navy However Minister of the Navy Yamamoto Gonnohyōe selected Tōgō Heihachirō instead When questioned about his decision by Emperor Meiji Yamamoto replied that it was because Togo was lucky 2 Hidaka was ennobled with the title of baron danshaku under the kazoku peerage system in 1907 and was promoted to full admiral in 1908 He retired from active service in 1909 and from the reserves in 1918 He died in 1932 In popular culture editIn the semi historical television adaption of Ryōtarō Shiba s Saka no ue no kumo role of Hidaka was played by veteran actor Akira NakaoReferences editBooks edit Dupuy Trevor N 1992 Encyclopedia of Military Biography I B Tauris amp Co Ltd ISBN 1 85043 569 3 Evans David 1979 Kaigun Strategy Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887 1941 US Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 192 7 Schencking J Charles 2005 Making Waves Politics Propaganda And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy 1868 1922 Stanford University Press ISBN 0 8047 4977 9 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sōnojō Hidaka Nishida Hiroshi Imperial Japanese Navy Archived from the original on 2012 12 05 Retrieved 2007 08 25 Notes edit Nishida Imperial Japanese Navy Kaigun page 82 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hidaka Sōnojō amp oldid 1149159631, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
