Uryū Sotokichi

Uryū was the second son of a samurai in service of Daishōji Domain (present day Daishōji in Ishikawa prefecture). He attended a mission school in Tsukiji, Tokyo and was converted to Protestantism in 1874. He became one of the first cadets of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy but did not graduate; instead, he was then sent to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis on 9 June 1875, returning on 2 October 1881Kowner, Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, p. 406.

Commissioned as a lieutenant, Uryū served aboard various ships throughout the 1880s, including the corvette {{Ship|Japanese corvette|Kaimon||2}}, the ironclad {{Ship|Japanese ironclad warship|Fusō||2}}, and the sloop {{Ship|Japanese warship|Nisshin||2}}. On 23 July 1891, he assumed his first command: the gunboat {{Ship|Japanese gunboat|Akagi||2}}. Promoted to captain in 1891, he was then posted as naval attaché to France from 5 September 1892 to 31 August 1896.

After the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, Uryū briefly commanded the new cruiser {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Akitsushima||2}}, followed by his old ship Fusō.

On 28 December 1897, Uryū faced a court-martial over a collision in the Seto Inland Sea in stormy weather between the cruisers {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Itsukushima||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Matsushima||2}}, and was sentenced to prison for three months from 5 April 1898. However, this did not hurt his career, as he was appointed captain of Matsushima on 1 February 1899, and the battleship {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Yashima||2}} on 16 June 1898.

He became a rear admiral and Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff on 21 May 1900.

Uryū was promoted to vice admiral on 6 June 1904. During the Russo-Japanese War, he commanded the Second Squadron at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay which resulted in the destruction of the Russian cruiser {{Ship|Russian cruiser|Varyag|1899|2}} and gunboat {{Ship|Russian gunboat|Korietz||2}}. For his war service, he was decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class) and the Order of the Golden Kite (2nd class) in 1906.

He was made commander of the Sasebo Naval District on 22 November 1906, he was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system on 21 September 1907.『官報』第7272号「授爵敍任及辞令」September 23, 1907

Appointed commander of the Yokosuka Naval District on 1 December 1909, Uryū was made a full admiral on 16 October 1912. He was the official representative from Japan at the opening ceremonies for the Panama Canal in 1912. From 1922 to 1925, he served on the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. He entered the reserve list in 1927, and died in 1937.

His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

• 1892 – File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 6Class BAR.svg Order of the Sacred Treasure, 6th class 『官報』第2833号「叙任及辞令」December 6, 1892
• 1896 - File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 5Class BAR.svg Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th class 『官報』第4027号「叙任及辞令」November 30, 1896
• 1901 – File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 2Class BAR.svg Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class 『官報』第5548号「叙任及辞令」December 28, 1901
• 1906 – File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun 『官報』号外「叙任及辞令」December 30, 1906
• 1906 – File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 2Class BAR.svg Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class
• 1937 – File:JPN Toka-sho BAR.svg Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers『官報』第3260号「叙任及辞令」November 12, 1937

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book | last = Andidora | first = Ronald | year = 2000 | title = Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century | publisher = Greenwood Press | isbn = 0-313-31266-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/ironadmiralsnava00andi }}
• {{cite book | last = Dupuy | first = Trevor N | year = 1992 | title = Encyclopedia of Military Biography | publisher = I B Tauris & Co Ltd | isbn = 1-85043-569-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmi0000dupu }}
• {{cite book | last = Jukes | first = Geoffrey | year = 2002 | title = The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 | publisher = Osprey Publishing | isbn = 978-1-84176-446-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/russojapanesewar00juke_0 }}
• {{cite book | last = Kowner| first = Rotem|author-link=Rotem Kowner| year = 2006 | title = Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War| publisher = The Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-4927-5}}

{{commons category|Uryū Sotokichi}}

• {{cite web | last = Nishida | first = Hiroshi | url = http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/p_xcx01.htm | title = Uryu Sotokichi | work = Imperial Japanese Navy | access-date = 2020-03-04 }}

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Category:1857 births

Category:1937 deaths

Category:Japanese Protestants

Category:People of Meiji-era Japan

Category:United States Naval Academy alumni

Category:Imperial Japanese Navy admirals

Category:Japanese naval attachés

Category:Military personnel from Ishikawa Prefecture

Category:People from Kaga, Ishikawa

Category:Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War

Category:Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War

Category:Kazoku

Category:Members of the House of Peers (Japan)

Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers