Mitsumasa Yonai
Born in Mikata District Fukui prefecture (present-day city of Wakasa, Fukui), to the family of a Shinto priest, Sakuma graduated from the 29th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1901. One of his classmates was the future Navy Minister and Prime Minister of Japan Mitsumasa Yonai. He was assigned to the cruiser shortly before the start of the Russo-Japanese War. He subsequently served with the 15th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, and was on board the cruiser during the Battle of Tsushima on May 26, 1905.