Yamamoto Gonnohyōe

Admiral Count Yamamoto Gonbee, GCMG (山本 權兵衞, Yamamoto Gonbee/Gonnohyōe, 26 November 1852 – 8 December 1933), also called Gonnohyōe, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the 16th (20 February 1913 – 16 April 1914) and 22nd (2 September 1923 – 7 January 1924) Prime Minister of Japan.

Early life

Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the son of samurai who served the Shimazu clan. As a youth, he took part in the Anglo-Satsuma War. He later joined Satsuma's Eighth Rifle Troop; in the Boshin War that ended the Tokugawa shogunate, fighting at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi and other locations; he was also aboard one of the ships that pursued Enomoto Takeaki and the remnants of the Tokugawa fleet to Hokkaidō in 1869.

Naval career

After the success of the Meiji Restoration, Yamamoto attended preparatory schools in Tokyo, entering the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1870. After graduation in 1874, he went on a training cruise to Europe and South America aboard Imperial German Navy vessels from 1877–78, and as junior officer acquired much sea experience. He wrote a gunnery manual that became the standard for the Imperial Japanese Navy and served as executive officer of the cruiser Naniwa on its shakedown voyage from Elswick to Japan (1885–86). Afterwards, he accompanied Navy Minister Kabayama Sukenori on a trip to the United States and Europe (1887–88).