Ryūnosuke Kusaka (草鹿 龍之介,Kusaka Ryūnosuke, 25 September 1893 – 23 November 1971) was an admiral in theImperial Japanese Navy duringWorld War II who served asChief of Staff of theCombined Fleet. Fellow AdmiralJinichi Kusaka was his cousin. Kusaka was also the 4th Headmaster ofIttō Shōden Mutō-ryū Kenjutsu, a famous school of swordsmanship founded byYamaoka Tesshū.

Ryūnosuke Kusaka
Rear Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka, First Air Fleet chief of staff
Native name	草鹿 龍之介
Born	(1893-09-25)25 September 1893 Tokyo, Japan
Died	23 November 1971(1971-11-23) (aged 78)[1]
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/ branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1913–1945
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands	Hōshō Akagi 4th Combined Air Group 24th Air Flotilla Yokosuka Naval Air Group 5th Air Fleet
Battles / wars	World War II Pacific War Attack on Pearl Harbor Indian Ocean raid Battle of Midway (WIA) Formosa Air Battle

Born to a director of theSumitomozaibatsu inTokyo in 1893, Kusaka's family registry officially listed him as a native ofIshikawa Prefecture, and he was schooled inOsaka.

He entered the 41st class of theImperial Japanese Navy Academy graduating 14th out of a class of 118 in 1913 and graduating from the Naval Gunnery School in 1920. He did hismidshipman service on thecruisersAzuma andOtowa. After he was commissioned asensign, he was assigned to thebattleshipKawachi and cruiserYakumo. He later served on the battleshipKongō anddestroyerKuwa. After his promotion tolieutenant on 1 December 1919, he was assigned to the battleshipsMutsu andYamashiro, destroyerSusuki, and repair shipKantō. He was promoted tolieutenant commander in 1925, and graduated from theNaval Staff College the same year, specializing innaval aviation. He subsequently captained a naval fighter group based atKasumigaura and served in numerous staff positions.

On 1 September 1933, he was appointedexecutive officer of the cruiserIwate, and on 16 November 1936—after his promotion tocaptain—he was given his first command: theaircraft carrierHōshō. In 1939, he became captain of the aircraft carrierAkagi.

Promoted torear admiral on 15 November 1940, he was commander of the 24th Air Flotilla before being appointed Chief of Staff of the1st Air Fleet under AdmiralChūichi Nagumo in April 1941. He was involved in strategic and tactical planning and execution, including theattack on Pearl Harbor andBattle of Midway. Kusaka badly sprained both ankles and was burned during the evacuation from the critically damagedAkagi during the battle. During the aftermath of the battle, Kusaka was able to dissuade the fleet commander and senior officers from committing suicide after the Japanese defeat.^[2]

Kusaka remained with the fleet until November 1942, and accepted a number of staff positions thereafter. He was promoted tovice admiral on 1 May 1944 and transferred to theCombined Fleet as Chief of Staff under commander-in-chief AdmiralSoemu Toyoda in November 1944. His final assignment was command of the5th Air Fleet after the suicide ofMatome Ugaki, exactly the dayJapan surrendered to the Allies.

Kusaka was interviewed byWalter Lord and gave detailed accounts for the booksDay of Infamy (1957) andIncredible Victory (1967).

Kusaka was portrayed by Ichirō Ryūzaki in the 1970 filmTora! Tora! Tora!, byPat Morita in the 1976 movieMidway, byTatsuya Mihashi in the 1981 filmRengō Kantai (lit. "Combined Fleet", released in the United States asThe Imperial Navy) and byRyûzô Hayashi inToei's 2005 filmOtokotachi no Yamato.

• D'Albas, Andrieu (1965).Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub.ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
• Dull, Paul S. (1978).A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
• Parrish, Thomas (1978).The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN 0-671-24277-6.
• Peattie, Mark R.,Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909-1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001,ISBN 1-55750-432-6

• Nishida, Hiroshi."Imperial Japanese Navy". Archived fromthe original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved25 February 2007.