Nogi, Maresuke

Maresuke's legs

At birth, Nogi was originally named Mujin, supposedly this name protected him from evil spirits, upon turning 18 he was renamed Nogi Bunzo.
In November 1865, he is enrolled in the Fushimi Goshin Heisha to train in the martial arts of militia or estate defense by the governor of the Nagato area. After completing his training, he is posted to the garrison at Kyoto, Kawatō Barrack as an instructor, and subsequently at Toyōra Manor, also as a trainer and also in command of the coastal defense troops there.

In 1871, Nogi becomes a major in the Imperial Army. Around the same time, he changes his father's surname to Maresuke.
In 1875 he is assigned to the 14th Infantry Regiment.
The following year, 1876, he is appointed as a regional staff officer of troops in Kumamoto. He is also transferred to command the 14th Infantry Regiment, and for his service during the Sacuma Rebellion, against Saigō Takamori's forces in Kyushu, he is made a lieutenant colonel. During the battle, he manages to lose the 14th Infantry Regiment's flag, which falls into enemy hands. Nogi did not forgive himself for this disgrace until his death, citing this incident as one of the reasons for his later suicide.

In 1878, he becomes a colonel.

In 1886 he goes to Germany with Kawaki Soroku to study European military strategy and tactics.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, in 1894, he becomes Major General and commands the 1st Infantry Brigade, which successfully penetrates the Chinese defenses and successfully captures Port Arthur in just one day of fighting.
The following year, he becomes Lieutenant General and is assigned to the 2nd Division with the task of invading Taiwan. Nogi remains with the occupation salvos in Taiwan until 1898.

In 1899, he is called back to Japan, where he is given command of the newly formed 11th Division based in Kagawa.

After becoming a Baron, he is decorated with the Order of the Golden Archer 1st Class.
On 14 October 1896, Nogi becomes the 3rd Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan, a post he holds until February 1898. During his time in Taiwan, his family moved with him to the island. His mother fell ill with malaria and died after some time. This event prompted Nogi to improve health conditions and care on the island.


In 1904, Nogi is again called up for military service due to the just-bursting Russo-Japanese War. At the same time, he is appointed general and is given command of the 3rd Army with an initial strength of 90,000 men. The army is tasked to occupy Port Arthur in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria. Nogi disembarked shortly after the Battle of Nanshan, in which his eldest son was killed. Japanese forces slowly advance down the peninsula and encounter unexpectedly strong resistance and many fortifications, much more so than 10 years ago when they fought the Chinese here.
The initial attack on Port Arthur gradually turns into a siege that extends from 01.08.1904 to 02.01.1905 and costs many Japanese lives, including Nogi's second son.
Due to the prolonged campaign, the many casualties and the impotence of the Japanese army to occupy the port, voices in Japan abound for Nogi to be recalled. However, Emperor Mucuhito becomes his supporter and defends him before the Supreme War Council.
After the final fall of Port Arthur, Nogi becomes a national hero. He subsequently leads his 3rd Army in the final battle of Mukden.

At the end of the war, Nogi directly answers to the Emperor Mucuhito. Here, as he explains the Battle of Port Arthur in detail, he apologizes for the loss of 56,000 lives and asks the Emperor to allow him to commit suicide. The Emperor Mucuhito subsequently tells him that suicide is unacceptable and that everything was done under Imperial orders, and Nogi must stay alive at least as long as he himself is also alive.
After the war ends, Nogi is given the title of Count and is awarded the Order of the Rising Sun with the Flowers of Paulownia, Grand Cordon in 1917.

He is headmaster of the Peer School from 1908-1912 and is a mentor to the young Crown Prince Hirohito.


Nogi spent most of his personal fortune on hospitals for wounded soldiers and on the construction of monuments to the fallen in the Russo-Japanese War. Among other things, he used his influence to get Japan to build a monument at Port Arthur for fallen Russian defenders.
Nogi and his wife committed seppuku and jigai (suicide) respectively shortly after the Emperor's funeral procession Meiji left the palace. The ritual suicide was in accordance with samurai tradition, to follow the master to death (junshi).
In his farewell letter, he wrote that this was his way of atoning for the disgrace of Kyushu and the thousands he had lost in Port Arthur. Among other things, he donated his body for medical purposes.

All members of his family were buried at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

Source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogi_Maresuke
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/乃木希典