Sakuma Samata
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| Count Sakuma Samata | |
|---|---|
| 19 November 1844 – 5 August 1915 | |
 Count Sakuma Samata |
|
| Place of birth | Hagi, Nagato Province, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1871–1915 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Battles/wars | Boshin War Satsuma Rebellion Taiwan Expedition of 1874 First Sino-Japanese War |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun (1st class with Paulownia Blossoms, Grand Cordon) |
| Other work | Governor-General of Taiwan |
Samata Sakuma (佐久間 左馬太 Sakuma Samata ?) ( 19 November 1844 - 5 August 1915) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and 5th Governor-General of Taiwan from 11 April 1906 to May 1915.
Sakuma was born in Chōshū domain (present day Yamaguchi Prefecture), as the son of a samurai of the Hagi clan. He studied Western military science under Omura Masujiro and subsequently served in the Boshin War. In 1872, he entered the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army as a captain. In February 1874, he participated in the suppression of the Saga Rebellion, during which time he led a column of troops from Kumamoto Castle. The then participated in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. During the Satsuma Rebellion, he was commander of the 6th Infantry Regiment. In February 1881, he was promoted to major general in command of the Sendai military district. In May 1885, he was given command of the 10th Infantry Regiment and promoted to lieutenant general the following year. The same year, 1886, he was elevated to the title of danshaku (baron). With the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, he commanded the Second Infantry Division at the Battle of Weihaiwei, and later served as Japanese governor of Weihaiwei.
At the end of the war, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, and elevated to shishaku (viscount). In 1898, he was appointed commander of the central division of the Imperial Guards, and became a full general. After a brief period on leave, he then became commander of the Tokyo Garrison.
In April 1906, after his appointment as 5th Governor-General of Taiwan, Sakuma was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class with Paulownia Blossoms, Grand Cordon), and in 1907 was elevated to hakushaku (Count).
With the end of armed resistance by Taiwan's Han Chinese population, the colonial authorities turned their attention to the suppression of the mountain dwelling aboriginal tribes. One of the reasons Sakuma was selected to head the colonial government was due to his participation in Japan's previous 1874 campaign, and his mission was extend Japanese control into the aboriginal regions. During his tenure, Sakuma led several armed campaigns against the Atayal and Bunun peoples. Sakuma was one of the longest serving Governor-Generals of Taiwan, stepping down in 1915, after having successfully completed his pacification campaign. He was highly regarded for helping develop Taiwan's east coast, especially the port of Hualien, and the Taroko Gorge area.
He is also credited with introducing baseball to Taiwan in 1910.
After his death, he became a kami under State Shinto, and a shrine was erected in his honor in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture, and in Taihoku (present-day Taipei). The shrine in Japan still exists, and unsuccessful efforts have been made to reconstruct the one in Taiwan as well.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Ching, Leo T.S., Becoming Japanese: Colonial Taiwan and the Politics of Identity Formation. University of California Press (2001). ISBN 0-520-22553-8
- Roy, Denny. Taiwan: A Political History. Cornell University Press (2003). ISBN 0-8014-8805-2
- Weisenfield, Gennifer. Visual Cultures of Japanese Imperialism. Duke University Press (July 2001). ISBN 0-8223-6490-5
| edit | Japanese Governors-General of Taiwan |  |
|---|---|---|
| Kabayama Sukenori • Katsura Taro • Nogi Maresuke • Kodama Gentarō • Sakuma Samata • Ando Sadami • Akashi Motojiro • Den Kenjiro • Uchida Kakichi • Takio Izawa • Mitsunoshin Kamiyama • Takeji Kawamura • Eizo Ishizuka • Masahiro Ota • Hiroshi Minami • Kenzo Nakagawa • Seizo Kobayashi • Kiyoshi Hasegawa • Rikichi Ando | ||
