Isamu Takeshita

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Isamu Takeshita
4 December 1869 -1 July 1949

Commander Isamu Takeshita at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1905. Library of Congress Collection
Place of birth Kagoshima, Satsuma domain Japan
Place of death Tokyo, Japan
Allegiance Empire of Japan
Service/branch Naval flag of Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service 1889-1929
Rank Admiral
Battles/wars First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, World War I
Awards Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
In this Japanese name, the family name is Takeshita.

Isamu Takeshita (竹下勇 Takeshita Isamu?) (4 December 1869 -1 July 1949) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was also a diplomat whose accomplishments included helping end the Russo-Japanese War favorably for Japan and obtaining former German possessions in the Pacific for Japan following World War I. In addition, he was a patron (and practitioner) of the Japanese martial arts, especially judo, sumo, and aikido.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Born Yamamoto Isamu into a samurai class family in Kagoshima, Satsuma domain (present-day Kagoshima prefecture), he was adopted into the Takeshita family as a boy.[1]

[edit] Naval and diplomatic career

Takeshita entered naval service as a midshipman in 1889; his first ship was the armored corvette IJN Kongo. He entered the 15th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1892, and he graduated third in a class of eighty students.[2] In 1898, he attended the Japanese Naval War College, which had been founded that same year.

Because he was fluent in English, he was posted at various times as a naval attaché. For example, in October 1902, he was appointed Japan's naval attaché to the United States.[2] In this role, Takeshita was an active participant in negotiations mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt that led to the Treaty of Portsmouth, thereby ending the Russo-Japanese War. During 1904, he also helped Roosevelt obtain the services of judo teacher Yamashita Yoshiaki, first for Roosevelt himself and then for the US Naval Academy.[3] Takeshita's commands included the cruisers IJN Suma, IJN Kasuga, IJN Izumo, IJN Tsukuba and the battleship IJN Shikishima.[2]

Takeshita was a member of the Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States in 1917,[4], the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and the League of Nations. In these positions, he played a leading role in Japan's obtaining former German holdings in the Central and Western Pacific.[5][6] For these efforts, Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class).[1] He returned to Japan to accept a posting as commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet on 1 December 1922, a position he held until January 1924. His subsequent billets included Commander of the Kure Naval District. He was placed on the retired list in November 1929.[2]

IJN Shikishima, a ship that Takeshita commanded
IJN Shikishima, a ship that Takeshita commanded
IJN Kasuga, a ship that Takeshita commanded
IJN Kasuga, a ship that Takeshita commanded

[edit] Activities after retirement from the Navy

During the late summer of 1935, Takeshita made his fifth trip to the United States.[7] His mission was to tell US audiences about Japan's war in China, the purpose of which he said was to stop the spread of Communism.[8] As for Japan's relationship with the United States, "No Japanese warship has ever crossed the Pacific except on a mission of peace," he said during a radio broadcast in San Francisco. "No Japanese soldier has ever come to these shores except on a similar mission."[9]

In February 1937, Takeshita was appointed head of the Japanese Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts, and YMCA. This was part of the general militarization of Japanese sports and athletics taking place at that time.[10] Later that year, he was also approached about becoming the head of the Japanese Amateur Athletic Federation, but he declined this offer.[11]

In May 1939, Takeshita became the third president of the Japan Sumo Association.[12] He held this post until November 1945.[13]

In April 1941, he became head of Japan's New Sword Society. This organization supported makers of modern swords that were hand-made in the traditional fashion.[14]

He died in Tokyo in July 1949.[15]

[edit] Connection with aikido

[edit] Encounter with Morihei Ueshiba

Yamamoto Gonnohyoe
Yamamoto Gonnohyoe

Takeshita first heard of Morihei Ueshiba through his colleague at the Imperial Naval Academy, Admiral Seikyo Asano, who was studying Daito-ryu aiki jujutsu (the forerunner of aikido) under Ueshiba at Ayabe. In 1925, Takeshita went to Ayabe to see Ueshiba and was so impressed that he recommended Ueshiba to Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, a retired admiral and former Prime Minister of Japan. This recommendation caused Yamamoto to invite Ueshiba to Tokyo to provide demonstrations to the Japanese military and political elite. Ueshiba's stay was however interrupted by sickness and he had to return to his hometown of Tanabe.

In February 1927, Takeshita invited Ueshiba to Tokyo again, and this time, Ueshiba settled there.[16] Takeshita's influence was such that many military officers, government officials and members of the wealthy class began practicing Ueshiba's martial art. Takeshita was not only an admirer but also an ardent practitioner of aikido, despite his age (he was almost 50). He filled notebooks with descriptions of Ueshiba's techniques, and these descriptions provide insights into the development of aikido.[17]

[edit] Role in the promotion of aikido

In 1935, Takeshita gave a demonstration of Ueshiba's art at the first Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai (Society for the Promotion of Japanese Classical Martial Arts) demonstration. Later that same year, Takeshita gave public demonstrations of aikido in Seattle, Washington and Washington, D.C; this was the introduction of aikido to the United States.[18]

In 1940, Takeshita was instrumental in providing a legal identity to Ueshiba's Kobukan organization by founding the Kobukai Foundation and becoming its first president. Also, in 1941, Takeshita used his influence to arrange a demonstration of aikido by Ueshiba at the Imperial Palace Sainekan Dojo. The demonstration took place in front of the Imperial family. Although ill, Ueshiba gave a spectacular exhibition, which greatly impressed the nobility.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Pranin, Stanley. "Takeshita, Isamu," The Encyclopedia of Aikido. [1]
  2. ^ a b c d Nishida, Hiroshi. "People: Naval Academy, class 15."[2]]
  3. ^ Svinth, Joseph R. "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington"[3].
  4. ^ The Imperial Japanese Mission 1917, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, [4]; New York Times, October 3, 1917
  5. ^ Gow, I.T.M. Military Intervention in Pre-War Japanese Politics: Admiral Kato Kanji and the 'Washington System'. London: Routledge, 2004, p. 71.[5]
  6. ^ Peattie, Mark R. Nan'yo: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885-1945. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, 1988, p.50.[6]
  7. ^ New York Times, September 5, 1935.
  8. ^ Japanese-American Courier, August 31, 1935, p. 1; Great Northern Daily News, September 7, 1935, p. 8; New York Times, September 25, 1935; New York Times, September 27, 1935.
  9. ^ Great Northern Daily News, September 5, 1935, p. 8.
  10. ^ Abe, Ikuo, Kiyohara,Yasuharu, and Nakajima, Ken. "Sport and physical education under fascistization in Japan," Bulletin of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 13, 1990, pp. 25-46.[7]
  11. ^ Japan Times and Mail, December 17, 1936, p. 5.
  12. ^ Japan Times and Mail, May 4, 1939.[8]
  13. ^ Nippon Times, November 28, 1945, p. 3.[9]
  14. ^ Nippon Times, April 11, 1941, p. 2; Nippon Times, June 4, 1941, p.8.
  15. ^ New York Times, July 7, 1949.
  16. ^ Ueshiba, Morihei and Ueshiba, Kissōmaru. Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido. Translated by John Stevens. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1996, p. 14.
  17. ^ Pranin, Stanley A. "Morihei Ueshiba and Admiral Isamu Takeshita," Aiki News, 97, Fall/Winter 1993.[10]
  18. ^ Svinth, Joseph R. "Aikido Comes to America: September 1935."[11]; New York Times, September 21, 1935.
Preceded by
'		 National Presidents of the Scout Association of Japan
1937–1945		 Succeeded by
'
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