| Seiichi Itō | |
|---|---|
Admiral Itō Seiichi |
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| Born | July 26, 1890 Miyama, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Died | April 7, 1945 (aged 54)[1] north of Okinawa |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1911-1945 |
| Rank | Admiral (posthumous) |
| Commands held | Kiso, Mogami, Atago, Haruna Personnel Bureau, 7th Cruiser Division, Navy General Staff, IJN 2nd Fleet[2] |
| Battles/wars | World War II Battle of the East China Sea |
Seiichi Itō (伊藤 整一 Itō Seiichi , 26 July 1890 – 7 April 1945) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and commander of the battleship Yamato on its final mission towards the end of World War II.
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Born in Miike County Takada Town (present day Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture), Itō graduated from the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911. He was 15th in a class of 148 cadets, and served as midshipman on the cruiser Aso and battleship Aki.
His rise through the ranks was regular and rapid: ensign on 1 December 1912, sub-lieutenant on 1 December 1914, and lieutenant on 1 December 1917.
Itō returned to the Naval Staff College in 1923, graduating from the 21st class as a lieutenant commander. Itō visited the United States from May–December 1927, and was promoted to commander on his return. He became captain on 1 December 1931 and was assigned as naval attaché to Manchukuo from March 1932-November 1933. Along with Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Itō, well aware of the disparity and resources and industrial strength between the United States and Japan, was an outspoken proponent of maintaining good relations with the United States.
In November 1933, Itō was given his first command: the cruiser Kiso. On November 1935, he was re-assigned to command the cruiser Mogami and in April 1936, the cruiser Atago. In December 1936, Itō was assigned command of the battleship Haruna.
On 15 November 1938, Itō became a rear admiral and was appointed Chief of Staff to the IJN 2nd Fleet. The following year, he was named chief of the Navy Ministry's Personnel Bureau. After serving for two years, Itō commanded Cruiser Division 8 (CruDiv 8) in November 1940 until his appointment as Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet in April 1941.
In September of that year, Itō became Vice Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff and was promoted to vice admiral a month later on 15 October 1941.
Itō was placed in command of the IJN 2nd Fleet based on the Inland Sea in December 1944. In April 1945, Ito commanded the last major offensive by the Imperial Japanese Navy (Operation Ten-Go) when, he led the battleship Yamato on its final sortie accompanied by one light cruiser and eight destroyers in an attempt to destroy US naval forces during the Battle of Okinawa. However, on April 7, the Japanese ships were spotted heading for Okinawa and were subsequently attacked by several hundred American carrier aircraft. With no Japanese air support available, the Yamato and several of its escorts were overwhelmed and sunk by multiple bomb and torpedo hits. After ordering the mission cancelled and for the remaining escorts to rescue survivors, Itō chose to go down with the Yamato.[3]
Itō was posthumously promoted to full admiral.
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