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Isamu Chō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 January 1895 |
| Died | 22 June 1945(1945-06-22) (aged 50) |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1913–1945 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands | 10th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
Isamu Chō (長 勇,Chō Isamu; 19 January 1895 – 22 June 1945) was an officer in theImperial Japanese Army known for his support ofultranationalist politics and involvement in a number of attemptedcoup d'états in pre-World War II Japan.
Chō was a native ofFukuoka prefecture. He graduated from theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1913 and from theArmy Staff College in 1928.[citation needed]
After he received hiscommission, Chō was assigned to his first duty outside Japan with the politicizedKwantung Army based in eastern China. He returned to play a very active role in internal politics within the Japanese army, and was an active or indirect participant in theMarch Incident and theImperial Colors Incident (with other leaders:Kingoro Hashimoto,Jirō Minami,Sadao Araki for the military, and nationalistsIkki Kita,Shūmei Ōkawa,Mitsuru Toyama, Kanichiro Kamei andKozaburo Tachibana). He was a founder of the radical "Sakurakai" secret society, whose aim was to overthrow the democratic government in favor of atotalitarian regime which would stamp out corruption.[1] Chō was known to be quick to anger and often struck his subordinates.[2]
At the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Chō was commander of the IJA 74th Infantry Regiment of theShanghai Expeditionary Force, attached toJapanese Central China Area Army, and based inManchukuo. At theBattle of Nanjing, he wasaide-de-camp toPrince Asaka and is thought to have been complicit in ordering theNanjing Massacre, but it is disputed whether he obeyed an order from the prince, or whether he acted on his own.[3]
Chō was subsequently involved in a number of border incidents between Manchukuo and the Soviet Union as Chief of Staff of theIJA 26th Division from 1939 to 1940. In 1940 he was transferred briefly to theTaiwan Army of Japan Headquarters, and then becameChief of Staff of the Indochina Expeditionary Army from 1940 to 1941.[4]
Chō was Vice Chief of Staff of Unit 82 within the Military Affairs Bureau, in theMinistry of War in 1941, and participated in the strategic and tactical planning for the Japanese invasion ofSoutheast Asia.
From 1942 until 1944 Chō was commander of the10th Infantry Group (Dai 10 Hohei-Dan(第10歩兵団)) of theIJA 10th Division, agarrison force based inManchukuo. He served in the Kwantung Army Headquarters, and later as commander of the 1st Mobile Brigade. In late 1944, Chō was recalled from Manchuria to the Home Islands, then to Okinawa.
He was Chief of Staff of the32nd Army during theBattle of Okinawa. He masterminded the elaborate underground fortifications aroundShuri Castle, but favored a highly aggressive response to the American invasion rather than a passive defense. He persuaded GeneralMitsuru Ushijima to launch the disastrous 5 May 1945 counteroffensive.
By the middle of June, the 32nd Army was effectively reduced to occupying two strongpoints, one beneath Kunishi Ridge and the other, the command headquarters inside Hill 89.[5]
Cho’s personal driver, Houhei Arakaki who was former local bus driver/shop owner was dismissed after the 32nd Army moved to the southern part of Okinawa. Arakaki was reunited with his family and escaped to the south but shot to death by an American soldier on 26 June. Arakaki was 40 years old.
Ushijima and Cho had decided to commitseppuku (ritual suicide) and on the night of their planned departure held a banquet in the cave housing the command post with a large meal prepared by Ushijima's cook, Tetsuo Nakamutam, which was complemented with plenty of sake and Cho's remaining stock of captured Black & White Scotch whisky.[5]
Later in the early hours of 22 June the staff in the command post lined up to pay their respects to Ushijima who was attired in his full dress uniform and Cho who wore a white kimono. Cho volunteered to go first and lead the way, “as the way may be dark,” but Ushijima insisted on going first. The men made their way onto an outside ledge overlooking the ocean, on which a white cloth had been laid over a quilt. Handed a knife by an aide Ushijima shouted and made a deep vertical cut in his bared abdomen before Captain Sakaguchi (who was regarded as a master swordsman) decapitated him with his sword. Cho followed Ushijima and the bodies of both men were buried by three orderlies in shallow graves.[5] Their bodies were then buried under U.S. military auspices on 27 June 1945, near the cave where they died. "The bodies of the two Japanese generals were lowered into graves almost above their cave headquarters which was sealed during the American flag service."[6]
On the back of Cho's kimono was a poem that he had composed:
“With bravery I served my nation.
With loyalty I dedicate my life.”[5]
Media related toIsamu Chō at Wikimedia Commons