Takenouchi Heitarō

was a Japanese Rear-Admiral during the Russo-Japanese War. He commanded the Nisshin throughout the war and was also known for delivering the Kasuga and Nisshin from Genoa to Yokosuka.

Family Heitarō was born on February 6, 1863, at Matsue into a family that would eventually restore the castle tower of Matsue Castle. His eldest son, Kazunobu Takenouchi, was the Colonel of the 53rd Air Division and the 7th Air Communications Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of World War II.

Early Military Career On 1877, he enrolled in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy before graduating from its 8th class as its deputy director before being promoted to ensign on 1885. Takenouchi was then promoted to captain in 1882 and later sent to France to study abroad on 1892. He returned to Japan in 1894 before becoming part of the Saikai Fleet Staff in 1895. Following that, he was promoted to Sub-lieutenant in 1896 and to Lieutenant in 1897. On 1898, Takenouchi was named the deputy director of the Akashi and given further offices such as the Deputy Captain of the Yashima and Captain of the Atago. Takenouchi then dispatched a land detachment to fight in the Boxer Rebellion as well as have a Military attaché with the French Legation at Peking and by 1901, he was promoted to captain. At the time, the route from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Japan was a long one with the Suez Canal being a shortcut. In order to transport Nisshin and Kasuga to Japan as soon as possible, the route via the Suez Canal was an absolute requirement. However, at that time, the relationship between Japan and Russia was getting worse every moment toward the start of the war, and it was easy to assume that the Russian Black Sea Fleet would block the passage of Nisshin and Kasuga. Therefore, Japan requested assistance from its ally, the United Kingdom to gather local sailors, and on January 7, 1904, the Nisshin and Kasuga departed from Genoa. After that, Takenouchi succeeded in passing in front of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ships departed Singapore on February 4 and left Singapore on February 16 before arriving at Yokosuka. The declaration of the war against Russia was decided at the Gozen Kaigi on the 4th, and on February 6, Russo-Japanese relations were severed. Junior 7th Rank (January 17, 1890) Senior 7th Rank (December 16, 1891) Senior 6th Rank (March 8, 1898)

Awards Military Medal of Honor (November 18, 1895) Order of the Golden Kite, 3rd Class (April 1, 1906) Order of the Rising Sun, 5th Class