Muto Nobuyoshi
Mutô Nobuyoshi was a prominent military officer and official of the Meiji through early Shôwa periods.
Born in Hizen province in 1868 the second son of a Saga han samurai, Mutô went on to graduate from the Military Academy in 1892, and Army University in 1899. He served as a Second Lieutenant in the Sino-Japanese War, and platoon chief of the 23rd infantry regiment in the Russo-Japanese War, later serving as military officer attached to the Russian Legation, and as head of the secret service during the Siberian Intervention.
Mutô became a junior chief of staff in 1922, and commander of the Kwantung Army (in Manchuria) in 1926. The following year, he was named Inspector General of Military Training. The puppet state of Manchukuo was officially established in 1932, and Mutô was named commander of the Kwantung Army again, as well as Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo and governor (chôkan) of the Kwantung Leased Territory. By the time of his death in 1933, Mutô had held the ranks of Field Marshal, and army general, and the title of Baron (danshaku). He is buried at Gokoku-ji in Tokyo.
References
- "Mutô Nobuyoshi," Nihon daihyakka zensho Nipponica, Shogakukan.
- "Mutô Nobuyoshi," Nihon jinmei daijiten, Kodansha, 2009.
- "Mutô Nobuyoshi," 20-seiki Nihon jinmei jiten, Nichigai Assoc., 2004.
