Shimamura Hayao

Marshal-Admiral Baron

Biography Born in Kōchi city, Tosa Province (present day Kōchi Prefecture), Shimamura entered the 7th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy following the Boshin War. Graduating at the top of his class of 30 cadets in 1880, he served as midshipman on the corvette , as ensign on the ironclad warship , and as a sub-lieutenant and lieutenant on the corvette .

Selected for staff work, Shimamura served as a junior officer for several years during the mid-1880s. Studying abroad in Great Britain, he served as a foreign naval observer with the Royal Navy from 1888 to 1891. After his return to Japan, he was assigned as chief gunnery officer on the . He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1894.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Shimamura was assigned as a staff officer of the Standing Fleet from August 1894 to April 1895 and involved in planning the column formations of the battle. He was later wounded while on board the cruiser during the Battle of the Yalu on September 17, 1894.

After serving in various staff positions after the war, (including naval attaché to Italy in 1894) Shimamura was promoted to captain in 1899 and commanded the cruiser and marines during the Battle of Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.

Promoted to full admiral on August 28, 1915, Shimamura was ennobled as a danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system in 1916.

Following his death in 1923, Shimamura was posthumously promoted to the rank of Marshal Admiral. His grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.