On Shibayama's return to Japan, he entered the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy as a naval artillery specialist. He fought in the Satsuma Rebellion in an artillery battalion, and served briefly as a crewman on the Asama and Tsukuba. He was in charge of torpedo development from 1879–1883, and is called the “father of the Japanese torpedo”.
After the war, on 7 January 1905, he became commander-in-chief of the new Ryojun Naval District. It was here that his abilities as an administrator and as an engineer found their perfect match. Shibayama was instrumental in raising the sunken Russian Pacific Fleet from the bottom of Port Arthur harbor, salvaging the badly damaged warships, and placing them into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy.[2] Shibayama was promoted to full admiral on 13 November 1905 and elevated to the rank of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system on 21 September 1907.
Shibayama went into the reserves in 1915 and retired completely in 1920. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery in Tokyo.
Referencesedit
Booksedit
Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN1-85043-569-3.
^ abKowner, Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, p. 350-351.
November 16, 2023
shibayama, yahachi, baron, 柴山, 矢八, july, 1850, january, 1927, admiral, early, imperial, japanese, navy, baron, japanese, admiral, bornjuly, 1850kagoshima, satsuma, domain, japandiedjanuary, 1927, 1927, aged, tokyo, japanallegiance, empire, japanservice, branch. Baron Shibayama Yahachi 柴山 矢八 13 July 1850 1 January 1927 was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy Baron Shibayama YahachiJapanese Admiral Shibayama YahachiBornJuly 13 1850Kagoshima Satsuma domain JapanDiedJanuary 1 1927 1927 01 01 aged 76 1 Tokyo JapanAllegiance Empire of JapanService wbr branch Imperial Japanese NavyYears of service1874 1920RankAdmiralCommands heldTsukuba Kaimon Takachiho Yokosuka Naval District Imperial Japanese Naval Academy Sasebo Naval District Readiness Fleet Kure Naval District Ryojun Naval DistrictBattles warsAnglo Satsuma WarSatsuma RebellionFirst Sino Japanese WarRusso Japanese WarIn this Japanese name the surname is Shibayama Contents 1 Biography 2 References 2 1 Books 3 External links 4 NotesBiography editBorn in Kagoshima Satsuma domain present day Kagoshima prefecture Shibayama participated as a Satsuma samurai in the Anglo Satsuma War in his youth Although a close friend of Togo Heihachiro he declined to join the military and did not participate in the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate However after the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the new Meiji government in Tokyo he enrolled in the government s development and colonization program and was sent to the United States for two years from 1872 On Shibayama s return to Japan he entered the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy as a naval artillery specialist He fought in the Satsuma Rebellion in an artillery battalion and served briefly as a crewman on the Asama and Tsukuba He was in charge of torpedo development from 1879 1883 and is called the father of the Japanese torpedo Promoted to captain in 1885 Shibayama went to the United States and Europe in 1886 together with Saigō Tsugumichi and on his return was promoted to acting director of the Armaments Department within the Ministry of the Navy of Japan much to the outrage and opposition of Admiral Yamamoto Gonnohyōe Perhaps for this reason he was given command of the corvette Tsukuba on 15 May 1889 and sent to sea for two years Afterwards he was assigned command of Kaimon the cruiser Takachiho Yokosuka Naval District and the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy before being appointed commander in chief of the Sasebo Naval District 2 Shibayama was promoted to rear admiral on 30 July 1894 in time for the First Sino Japanese War He became vice admiral and commander in chief of the Readiness Fleet on 10 August 1897 He was commander in chief of the Kure Naval District from 20 May 1900 through the end of the Russo Japanese War After the war on 7 January 1905 he became commander in chief of the new Ryojun Naval District It was here that his abilities as an administrator and as an engineer found their perfect match Shibayama was instrumental in raising the sunken Russian Pacific Fleet from the bottom of Port Arthur harbor salvaging the badly damaged warships and placing them into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy 2 Shibayama was promoted to full admiral on 13 November 1905 and elevated to the rank of danshaku baron under the kazoku peerage system on 21 September 1907 Shibayama went into the reserves in 1915 and retired completely in 1920 His grave is at the Tama Cemetery in Tokyo References editBooks edit Dupuy Trevor N 1992 Encyclopedia of Military Biography I B Tauris amp Co Ltd ISBN 1 85043 569 3 Kowner Rotem 2006 Historical Dictionary of the Russo Japanese War The Scarecrow Press ISBN 0 8108 4927 5 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shibayama Yahachi Nishida Hiroshi Imperial Japanese Navy Archived from the original on 4 December 2012 Retrieved 25 August 2007 Notes edit Nishida Imperial Japanese Navy a b Kowner Historical Dictionary of the Russo Japanese War p 350 351 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shibayama Yahachi amp oldid 1100489058, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
