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Togo Heihachiro 東郷 平八郎 (1846
-
1934) [hA'hδchirO' tO'gO] was a
Japanese admiral and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. Alternative
spellings are Tougou Heihachirou, Togo Hehachiro, Togo Heihachiro.
Born in
Satsuma province (modern-day
Kagoshima prefecture) as a samurai family of
Shimazu, togo studied naval science in
England from 1871 to 1878, gained international recognition for his
service in the
First Sino-Japanese War, and contributed greatly to the development of
Japanese sea
power. In the
Russo-Japanese War he defeated the
Russian fleet at
Port Arthur in
1904 and destroyed the Russian Baltic fleet in
1905 at the
battle of Tsushima. This historic battle broke Russian strength in
East Asia. Later he was chief of the naval
general staff and a member of the supreme war council.
In
1940, shortly after his death,
Togo Shrine was built in
Harajuku,
Tokyo in dedication to Togo Heihachiro. There he is celebrated as a
shinto
kami.
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