Information AboutTakeichi Nishi |
Baron Takeichi Nishi () ( July 12 1902 - March 22 1945 (?)) was a Japanese Imperial Army officer, equestrian show jumper, and Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics . He was a tank commander at the Battle Of Iwo Jima and was killed in action during the defense of the island. FAMILY AND EARLY LIFE Nishi was born in the Azabu district of Tokyo . He was the third son of Tokujirō Nishi , a ''danshaku'' (hereditary noble of the fifth rank, or " Baron "). His mother was not married to Tokujirō and was forced to leave the house soon after giving birth. His father had various high level positions in the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs and imperial Privy Council , leading up to ambassador to China's Qing Dynasty during the Boxer Rebellion . Nishi went to Gakushuuin pre-school and, while in elementary school, repeatedly got into fights with students of nearby Chiyoda elementary school. In 1912, at the age of 10, he succeeded to the title of Baron upon the death of his father. In 1915, he entered Tokyo First Junior High School (now Hibiya High School ) in accordance with the dying wishes of his father; his classmates included Hideo Kobayashi , future preeminent literary critic, and Hisatsune Sakomizu , who would be chief Cabinet secretary in 1945. In September 1917, Nishi entered Hiroshima Army Cadet School, one of the military schools that the Japanese had set up on the Prussia n model, and in 1920 took courses at Tokyo Central Cadet Academy. He was joined in these by Tsuji Masanobu , head student of the Nagoya Academy. He completed his studies at Central Cadet School in six months in April 1920, due to the reorganization of the military schools, and began courses at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy . Midway through his studies, he was attached to the First Cavalry Regiment based in Setagaya, Tokyo . In 1924 he graduated from the Academy, the 13th of the 19 students in his class, and went on to the First Cavalry and graduated from army cavalry school. URANUS AND OLYMPICS COMPETITION In 1930, Nishi encountered what would be his favorite horse, Uranus, while in Italy . As the army wouldn't pay for the horse, Nishi bought Uranus with his personal funds. Nishi and Uranus competed in competitions around Europe , doing well. In 1932, when Nishi was a first lieutenant, they participated in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles , winning a gold medal in Show Jumping Individual . This remains Japan's only Olympic medal in an equestrian event. His victory broke through the general hostility towards Japan that followed from the Mukden Incident and invasion of Manchuria . Westerners, especially Americans, referred to him as Baron Nishi. He was also popular among Japanese American s, who were ostracized by American society in this period. During his stay in Los Angeles, Nishi became the topic of conversation both for his love of driving convertibles around town and for becoming part of the social circle led by movie star couple Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks . After the Olympics, he was reassigned to the 16th Narashino Cavalry Regiment and promoted to be a cavalry instructor at the regimental school. Nishi and Uranus participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , but fell off his horse during mid-course. There is speculation that this was intentional and done for the benefit of host country Nazi Germany , with whom Japan would sign the 1940 Tripartite Pact , forming the Axis Powers . The 1936 Show Jumping Individual Event gold medal was won by Germany. Following this, Nishi was reposted to the Tokachi Subdivision of the department responsible for supply of military horses. WAR YEARS TO IWO JIMA In this period, Japan was cutting its cavalry forces and forming Tank regiments. Nishi was reassigned the regimental commander of the 26th Tank Regiment, Mudanjiang , which was stationed in northern Japanese-occupied Manchuria on defensive duties. He eventually gained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1944, the 26th was assigned to the defense of Iwo Jima under the command of Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi . While enroute, their ship was struck by torpedoes fired by submarine USS ''Cobia'' on 18 July 1944 . While only two soldiers were killed, all 28 of the tanks were lost, though they eventually received 22 replacements. Nishi briefly returned to Tokyo to obtain the replacement tanks. While there, he borrowed the car of Kawashima Daijiro , future CEO of Daihyaku Insurance (eventually bought out by Manulife Financial ), a close friend and a son of the Kawasaki Zaibatsu . When he had a chance, he visited Uranus, who remained in Bajikōen horse grounds, Setagaya. BATTLE OF IWO JIMA See Also: Battle of Iwo Jima On Iwo Jima in 1945, Nishi commanded the 26th Tank Regiment under the Ogasawara Corps (109th Division). He would walk about the island wearing his Hermès brand riding boots and carrying his favorite Crop . The regimental headquarters, which was located near the village of Maruman, was moved to the eastern part of the island when the battle began. Due to the topography of the island, some of the medium Type 97 Chi-Ha and Type 95 light tanks were buried up to their turrets and used as fortified emplacements, in particular, against the American M4 Sherman s. The American forces, who knew that Nishi was an enemy commander, broadcasted appeals daily for him to surrender, stating that the world would regret losing "Baron Nishi". He never responded. The American intelligence officer responsible for this attempt was Sy Bartlett of the 315th Bomber Wing out of Guam , who would later write the novel and film screenplay '' Twelve O'Clock High ''. In 1966, Bartlett visited Nishi's widow in Tokyo and paid his respects at Yasukuni Shrine . The circumstances of Nishi's death are unknown, but are subject to competing theories. One theory is that he found himself in the midst of enemy forces on the morning of the 21st and was killed by machine gun fire while moving to the regimental headquarters. Another is that he and his aide killed themselves with their pistols near Ginmyōsui or Futagoiwa. Yet another is that he was burnt to death by American flamethrowers on the 22nd, or that he and several subordinates carried out a final assault and were killed in action. Nishi was 42. Nishi was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel. He was succeeded in the rank of ''danshaku'' by his son Yasunori Nishi (currently vice president of the Association of Iwo-Jima). Yasunori was to be the only person born in the Shōwa Period to become a ''danshaku'', it and other hereditary positions being abolished during the American occupation. In the 2006 film '' Letters From Iwo Jima '', Nishi was portrayed by Tsuyoshi Ihara . The film portrays Nishi being close friends with General Kuribayashi, but there was in actuality antagonism between the two. Nishi ignored Kuribayashi's prohibition on using precious water to wash tanks, as well as orders to punish soldiers who did so. Perhaps this resulted from their different upbringings. Regardless, the popularity (mainly in Japan) of both men, as defenders of Iwo Jima, grew. An anecdote repeated by Kakehashi Kumiko in the February 2006 issue of '' Bungei Shunju '' magazine is that in the final days of the battle, as the number of commanding officers who refused to put their men in caves increased, Nishi agreed that they should go out and fight together. In the 2006 movie, Nishi uses some of the scarce medical supplies on a wounded US Marine he is questioning. Ōno Kaoru's biography of Nishi gives credence to this as an actual event. The film also portrays Nishi as having taken his own life after being wounded and blinded during the battle. Ōno states "Few people comprehended him and only Uranus understood him." Uranus died one week after Nishi. In 1990, Uranus was commemorated at the War Horse Memorial in the History and Folklore Museum in Honbetsu , Hokkaidō . REFERENCES AND OTHER WORKS Translations of Japanese language titles are approximate.
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