Shiba Goro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shiba Gorō (柴五郎 Shiba Gorō?) (21 June 1860-13 December 1945) was a Japanese samurai and later a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.
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[edit] Early life
Born as the 5th son of Aizu domain samurai Shiba Satazō, Shiba Goro witnessed the events of the Boshin War and survived the domain's destruction. He joined the new Meiji government and attended the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. In his same class were a number of men who later rose to considerable prominence, including Uehara Yusaku, Akiyama Yoshifuru, and Hongo Fusataro.
[edit] Military career
After serving with the Osaka Armory, Shiba was later assigned to the Imperial Guards unit.
As a colonel, Shiba was military attaché at the Japanese legation during the Boxer Rebellion. He served with distinction during that campaign, including the siege of Beijing, and was awarded with decorations by many of the western nations participating in the combat. His name was also mentioned in The Times. After serving in an artillery regiment in the Russo-Japanese War and being awarded the Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class), he was sent as military attaché to Great Britain.
Later, after becoming a general, he returned to Japan to take command of the newly-formed IJA 12th Division and was also awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1st class). He was chosen to accompany Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito on an official visit to England in 1918. After his return to Japan, he was briefly placed in change of the Taiwan Army before retirement.
He died of complications from a suicide attempt after the Japanese surrender after the Pacific War in 1945.
[edit] Literary career
Shiba is also the author of his memoir "Remembering Aizu" (Boshin Junnan Kaikoroku, "A Record of the Sacrifices of the Boshin War" in Japanese). The book portrays his childhood years and family life, as well as an insider's view of the Meiji Restoration in Japan. This view includes a description of the difficulties faced by the Aizu daimyo Matsudaira Katamori and the rest of the domain's population, wrapping up with Shiba's return to Aizu in the 1870s.
His brother, Shiba Shirō, under the pen name Tokai Sanshi, was also famous during the mid-Meiji period, as the author of "Chance Encounters with Beautiful Women" (Kajin no Kigu), a fictionalized account of his time as a student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Remembering Aizu: The Testament of Shiba Goro , Ishmitsu Mahito, ed. Translated by Teruko Craig. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8248-2130-0
- Website with data on former Aizu retainer families, including the Shiba
