OTD: Birth of Yamamoto Isoroku

Greetings PHG fans! Today, 4 April is the 142nd anniversary of the birth of Takano Isoroku, who, as commander of the Imperial Japan's Combined Fleet under the name Yamamoto Isoroku, oversaw the Navy's entry into the wider Pacific War.

The last known photograph of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, on Rabaul 18 April 1943

Yamamoto is one of the more famous Japanese figures of the Second World War and probably the most recognizable among Imperial Japan's many Admirals. Perhaps best known for his 'sleeping giant' comment issued immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he has been somewhat sanitized in recent scholarship as an anti-war figure (he was not). Yamamoto was fated to preside over a series of quick victories in the early days of the Pacific War, only to be caught up in his own complicated plans at Midway. His approach to the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns assured Japan's slow descent in a war of attrition, and he was killed near Bougainville on 18 April 1943 when his aircraft was shot down by the US Army Air Corps. It's still possible to reach the wreckage; I've marked it on the official PHG Google maps.

Admiral Yamamoto's crash site marked at the southern end of Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea

When reading about Yamamoto, you may find it strange that someone who knew so much about how Americans think (he had a low opinion of the US Navy) and production capability (he admitted, often, that the US could outperform Japan in industrial might) would go on to plan and execute the Pearl Harbor raid. If that's the case, you're not alone! Some of the foremost scholars on Imperial Japan have struggled with this, and cases like it; why did Japan risk conflict with the United States? Why were they so slow to react to losses and shortfalls? And perhaps most importantly, why did they not give up sooner? If these questions interest you, I recommend heading over to the Pacific History Guide reading list and resources pages; there's so many great books and articles on the subject of Imperial Japanese strategic decision-making. Suffice it to say...Yamamoto did not operate in a vacuum.

I look forward to discussing more in the comments!

Keep discovering,

Tony

Further reading:

Yamamoto Isoroku Museum in Niigata, Japan

From the Nisshin to the Musashi: The Military Career of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku in the Association for Asian Studies

Operation Vengeance: The Killing of Isoroku Yamamoto at the National WWII Museum

Lessons in Surprise: Yamamoto at Harvard in Harvard Magazine