Nobuyoshi Mutō

Baron Mutō Nobuyoshi
15 July 1868 -27 July 1933
Japanese General Baron Mutō Nobuyoshi
Place of birth	Saga, Saga Prefecture
Place of death	Shinkyo, Manchukuo
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Rank	Field Marshal
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War
Awards	Order of the Golden Kite (1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class) Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)

In this Japanese name, the family name is Mutō.

Baron Nobuyoshi Mutō (武藤信義, Mutō Nobuyoshi^?, 15 July 1868 – 27 July 1933) was Commander of the Kwangtung Army in 1933, Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo, and a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

[edit] Biography

Born to an ex-samurai family from Saga Prefecture, after graduating from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, Mutō served in the First Sino-Japanese War as a lieutenant in the infantry. After the war (and his promotion to captain) he was sent twice to Russia as a military attaché, spending time in Vladivostok and in Odessa. He was fluent in the Russian language, which proved invaluable during the Russo-Japanese War. After his promotion to major, then colonel, he returned to Japan in a posting with the Imperial Guards. ^[1]

From 1915-1916, Mutō was Chief of 2nd Section (Maneuvers), 1st Bureau, Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. From 1917, he was assigned to military intelligence and headed the Harbin Special Agency and operational offices in Irkutsk and Omsk. He returned to administrative positions in Japan from 1919-1921, before being appointed commander of the IJA 3rd Division in 1921 and being dispatched to Russia during the Siberian Expedition against the Bolshevik Red Army.

Mutō returned to Japan in 1922 as Vice Chief of the General Staff to 1925, and a member of the Supreme War Council from 1925-1926. He was briefly appointed commander of Tokyo Defense Command before assuming the role of Commander in Chief of the Kwangtung Army, from 28 July 1926 – 26 August 1927.

Mutō was active in the founding of the new state of Manchukuo. After a stint as Inspector-General of Military Training (26 August 1927 – 26 May 1932), he then returned to Manchuria from 1932 to 1933 as Commander in Chief of the Manchukuo Imperial Army, while simultaneously holding the positions of Commander of the Kwantung Army and Governor of Kwantung Leased Territory. As Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Emperor Showa, Mutō signed the Japan-Manchukuo Protocol of 1932. In 1933, he supervised Operation Nekka, the invasion of Jehol. In early 1933, he was promoted to field marshal. ^[2]

Diagnosed with jaundice, Mutō died in a hospital in Shinkyo, Manchukuo. His elevation to the title of danshaku (baron) was posthumous, as were his awards of the Order of the Golden Kite (1st class) and Order of the Rising Sun (1st class). His grave is at the temple of Gokoku-ji in Tokyo.

Bix, Herbert B (2001). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-093130-2.
Coox, Alvin (1990). Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939. Stanford University Press. 0804718350.
Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 1-85043-569-3.

Preceded by Mannosuke Yamaoka	Governor-General of Kwantung 1932-1933	Succeeded by Takashi Hishikari