Akiyama Saneyuki

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Akiyama Saneyuki (秋山 真之 Akiyama Saneyuki, April 12, 1868-February 4, 1918) was a Japanese admiral in the Meiji period. He is famous as a planner of Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese general Akiyama Yoshifuru was his elder brother.

Akiyama was born in Matsuyama as a son of a poor samurai. The famous poet Masaoka Shiki was his friend from childhood. Later two young men went to Tokyo to study literature. But Akiyama abandoned his study on letters because his brother Yoshifuru ordered him to go to Naval School in Tsukiji, Tokyo. While he was a student there, the school moved to Edajima, Hiroshima prefecture. He was an outstanding student, and the Naval Department sent him to the United States of America to study American naval theory. Akiyama studied the theory of Mahan, and was heavily influenced by it. He also studied the traditional strategy of suigun, Japanese medieval pirates, thereby developing his unique naval strategy.

When he retired, he was appointed to Vice Admiral.