Hirose, Takeo

Takeo's father, Shigetake Hirose, was a samurai of the Principality of Oka in Bungo Province in the north of Kyushu Island. During the Bakumatsu years (the end of the Shogun era), Shigetake Hirose sided with the pro-imperial forces and, after their victory, in the Meiji era , worked as a judge ^[3] . At first, the Hirose family lived in the village of Taketa , but their house burned down during the samurai uprising led by Saigo Takamori in 1877, after which they moved to Honshu , in the city of Takayama ^[4] . After graduating from a junior school in Takayama and having studied at Tokyo high school, in 1885 Takeo, following his older brother entered the naval military academy of Japan (his brother subsequently rose to the rear admiral ). At the same time, Takeo began to practice judo at the Kodokan Institute and over time began to be considered one of the best judokas there ^[5] .

After graduating from the academy in 1889, Hirose was assigned to the armored steamer frigate , where he served until February of the following year. After that, he became a boatswain on the Caimon hydrographic ship, which studied and guarded the coast. During the first Sino-Japanese war, Hirose served on the battleship Fuso and took part in the Battle of the Yalu River in 1894 ^[6] .

Hirose was convinced of the inevitability of a war with Russia and found it necessary to know as much about it as possible. To this end, he undertook to independently learn the Russian language. His enthusiasm was noticed in the military command, and in 1897, when the issue of sending capable young officers to study abroad was being decided, Hirose was sent to Russia - to live, study and supply the Japanese command with information about the state of the Russian fleet, naval bases and coastal fortifications ^[7] . Subsequently, he was appointed naval attache and as such remained in St. Petersburg until 1902 ^[6] . While in Russia, Hirose acquired a large number of acquaintances among the Russian aristocracy and military ranks ^[8] , and in addition he repeatedly traveled to areas of strategic importance. He examined the fortifications of Port Arthur , the main Russian port in the Far East, and drove along the Trans-Siberian Railway ^[3] . Not limited to traveling around Russia, he also visited Germany, France and the UK ^[9] .

Hirose studied Russian and, while traveling in Russia, created translations of several poetry works by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin into classical Chinese (which all educated Japanese knew at that time) in the Kansi genre ^{[10] [11]} . He was also one of the first Japanese to read Taras Bulba and the works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy ^[12] .

In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began. Hirose, who at that time had the rank of captain of the 3rd rank ( Japanese 少佐 sh少佐 : sa ) , was assigned to the battleship Asahi , where he commanded torpedo tubes ^[6] . From the very beginning of the war, the Japanese tried to block the harbor of Port Arthur, stoking heavily loaded old ships at the entrance to it. Hirose took part in the first and second attempts at the blockade, commanding the Hokoku-maru ( 報国 丸 ) and Fukui-maru ( 福井 丸 ) firewalls, respectively . During the second attempt, March 27, 1904, he died. When the Japanese tried to bring four firewalls to the harbor entrance, the Russians noticed them and immediately deployed coastal artillery and sent destroyers to intercept. The Fukui Maru received a hole in the side from one of the destroyers and began to sink. Hirose ordered to blow up the ship and evacuate, but after the roll call did not find among the sailors the foreman of the 1st article, Magoshichi Sugino, who was just about to prepare the explosion in the hold. Hirose refused to evacuate and went to look for Sugino, but, having searched the entire ship and making sure that the foreman did not respond to any calls, he was forced to go to the lifeboat. When landing in it, the captain was torn off by the direct hit of a Russian shell. Hirose's body, which fell into the water, was later caught by Russian sailors and buried him with all honors. In the Japanese boat, there were several small pieces of Hirose flesh that were picked up by the sailors and buried on the Japanese side ^[13] in the presence of officials such as Fleet Minister Yamamoto Gombei and the imperial ambassador ^[14] .

Takeo Hirose’s act, which showed such obvious concern for his subordinate, and his death, became very famous in Japan, not least thanks to the efforts of the military propaganda department ^{[14] [15]} . Hirose was glorified as "a servant to the king, a father to the soldiers." He was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain of the 2nd rank ( Jap. 中 佐 tu: sa ) , a Shinto shrine was built in his honor in the village of Taketa, his dedication became the subject of poetry and songs, his biography was included in school textbooks until the end of World War II ^{[ 15]} . Captain Hirose was erected with a bronze monument in Taketa, a bust in Takayama and a sculpture group (still not preserved) in front of Manseibashi Station in Tokyo, where he was depicted with Sergeant Sugino. The founder of Kodokan, Jigoro Kano , from whom Hirose had studied judo, posthumously promoted him from 4th to 6th ^[5] , and the famous Japanese scholar Lafkadio Hearn mentioned the prevalence of various souvenirs dedicated to the captain, including cufflinks with a portrait of Hirose and with the signature “Seven Lives for the Country” ( 七 生 報國 sitisho: ho: koku ) : this is a patriotic saying that belonged to the samurai commander Kusunoki Masashige , Hirose liked to quote ^[8] . Thus, Takeo Hirose entered the pantheon of “divine heroes” of the Russo-Japanese war and is still revered in the Yasukuni Temple.

His impeccable reputation also helped spread the glory of Captain Hirose: he didn’t drink all his life, didn’t smoke, was not fond of women ^[7] and did not want to marry, because he believed that he who could be called upon to give his life for his homeland at any time does not have rights ^[8] . There is only evidence that he had romantic feelings for a certain Ariadne Kovalskaya, daughter of Anatoly Kovalsky, a mine specialist from the Maritime Technical Committee at the Maritime Ministry of Russia ^{[16] [p 1]} . Hirose's letter to her sister-in-law Harue survived, written on a postcard with a picture of a beautiful woman, reminiscent, in Hirose's opinion, of Ariadne.

Regarding the fate of foreman Sugino, because of which Captain Hirose lingered on a sinking ship, some doubts arose after the Second World War. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper ^[17] and the NHK television company ^[18] in 1946 reported that Sugino, who is glorified in his own country as having died for a just cause, is actually alive and intends to return to Japan. He allegedly survived the battle at Port Arthur, as he, who had lost consciousness from his wounds, was picked up by a Chinese boat ^[19] , and he spent some time in captivity with the Russians ^[20] . Hearing about his popular glory in Japan, he imagined the great shame that awaited him in case of return, and preferred to settle in Manchuria . He lived there until 80, and after World War II he was recognized at the port by Japanese prisoners of war returning home after the defeat of his country ^{[19] [21]} . However, there were no other reports of Sugino, he himself did not make any statements through any information channels, and Japanese officials upheld the version of his death in 1904, and reports of his rescue were declared groundless rumors.

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  A postcard with a picture of a beauty similar to Ariadne Kowalska

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  Nishiki-e "The great feat of Captain Hirose." 1904 year

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  Postcard depicting a monument to Captain Hirose and foreman Sugino in front of Manseibashi Station

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  Hiroshi-jinja Shinto Shrine in Taketa

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  Hirose's Tomb at Aoyama's Tokyo Cemetery

• 『航 南 私 記』 （1904 年 、 修 徳 園） ( Takeo Hirose. Co.: Nan Shiki (Diary of Swimming South). - Syutokuen, 1904. )
• 『広 瀬 武夫 全集』 高 城 知 子 ・ 島 田 謹 二 ・ 司馬遼太郎 編 （（全 2 巻 、 1983 年 、 講 談 社） ( Takeo Hirose. Hirose Takeo zenshu: (Complete works of Takeo Hirose / Kind Tomiaki / Kindo Tomiaki). In two volumes) and Retaro Siba . - Kodansya , 1938. )

In historical

• 島 田 謹 二 『ロ シ ヤ に お け る 広 瀬 武夫』 『ロ シ シ ヤ に お け る 広 瀬 武夫』 （1961 年 、 弘文堂） ( Kinji Shimada. Rosia nor okeru Hirose Takeo (Takeo Hirose - Russia) in Russia )
• 高 城 知 子 『広 瀬 家 の 人 々』 （1980 年 、 新潮社） ( Tomoko Takaki. Hirose-ke no hitobito (Hirose Family). - Shintesya , 1980. )
• 児 島 襄 『日 露 戦 争』 （全 5 巻 、 1990 年 、 文藝 春秋） ( Noboru Kojima. Nichi-ro-senso: (Russo-Japanese War). - Bungeisyunju, 1990. )
• 林 え い だ い 『日 露 戦 争 秘 話 杉 野 は い ず こ? 1998 の 生存 説 を 追 う 』（1998 年 、 新 評論） ( Eidai Hayashi. Nichi -ro-senso: hiva - Sugino wa Izuko? Eiyu: but seizon setsu ou oh (The mysterious history of the Russo-Japanese war: where is Sugino? In the footsteps rumors of a surviving hero). - Sinheron, 1998. )

In Art

• 司馬遼太郎 『坂 の 上 の 雲』 （全 6 巻 、 1969 年 ～ 1972 年 、 文藝 春秋） ( Retaro Siba. Saka no ue no kumo (Clouds over the hills. Novel in 6 volumes). - Bungeisyunju, 1969-1972. Based on the novel, the television series of the same name was shot, in the role of Hirose - actor )
• 高橋 安 美 『軍 神 広 瀬 武夫 の 生涯』 （2009 年 、 新人物 往来 社） ( Yasumi Takahashi. Gunxin Hirose Takeo no shô: guy (Life of the divine hero Takeo Hirose. Roman). - Shin Jimbutsu Oraisha, 2009. )
• 桜 田 啓 『広 瀬 武夫 旅順 に 散 っ た「 海 の サ ム ラ イ 」』 （2009 年 、 PHP 研究所） ( Kei Sakurada. Hirose Takeo - Ryojun no titi “Umi no Samurai” (Takeo Hirose - “the fallen at Port-Samurai”) ". Roman). - PHP Institute, 2009. )

Comments

• Boris Akunin. Japanese god
• Takeo Hirose's profile on the National Parliamentary Library of Japan
• The song "Hirose-chusa" on YouTube (see also translated words ). Performed by the Nishirokugo Children's Choir (1st record) and the Dark Ducks quartet (2nd record).