Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal - Admiral Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō , OM , GCVO ( （ 東郷 平八郎 ; 27 January 1848 – 30 May 1934 ) , was a " Gensui " or Admiral of the Fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan ' s greatest naval heroes . He was termed by Western journalists as " the Nelson of the East " , after Horatio Nelson , the British admiral who defeated the French and Spanish at Trafalgar . Early life . Tōgō was born on 27 January 1848 ( by the Western calendar ) in the Kajiya - chō ( ） district of the city of Kagoshima in Satsuma domain ( modern - day Kagoshima prefecture ) , in feudal Japan , the third of four sons of Togo Kichizaemon , a samurai serving the Shimazu daimyo , and Hori Masuko ( 1812 - 1901 ) . Kajiya - chō was one of Kagoshima ' s " samurai " housing - districts , in which many other influential figures of the Meiji period were born , such as Saigō Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi . They rose to prominent positions under the Meiji Emperor partly because the Shimazu clan had been a decisive military and political factor in the Boshin war against the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration . Tokugawa conflicts ( 1863 – 1869 ) . Tōgō ' s first experience at war was at the age of 15 during the Bombardment of Kagoshima ( August 1863 ) , in which Kagoshima was shelled by the Royal Navy to punish the Satsuma " daimyo " for the death of Charles Lennox Richardson on the Tōkaidō highway the previous year ( the Namamugi Incident ) , and the Japanese refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation . The following year , Satsuma established a navy , in which Tōgō and two of his brothers enrolled . In January 1868 , during the Boshin War , Tōgō was assigned to the paddle - wheel steam warship " Kasuga " , which participated in the Naval Battle of Awa , near Osaka , against the navy of the Tokugawa " Bakufu " , the first Japanese naval battle between two modern fleets . As the conflict spread to northern Japan , Tōgō participated as a third - class officer aboard the " Kasuga " in the last battles against the remnants of the " Bakufu " forces , the Naval Battle of Miyako and the Naval Battle of Hakodate ( 1869 ) . Studies in Britain ( 1871 – 1878 ) . Tōgō studied naval science for seven years in England as an apprentice officer , from 1871 to 1878 , along with several other Japanese students . Tōgō visited London , at that time the largest and most populous city in the world . Many things were strange to Japanese eyes ; the round houses made out of stone , the ' number and massiveness of the buildings ' , ' the furnishings of a commonplace European room ' , ' the displays in the butchers ' shop windows : it took them several days to become accustomed to such an abundance of meat . ' The Japanese group was separated and sent to English boardinghouses for individual instruction in English language , customs and manners . Next , Tōgō was sent to Plymouth , where he was assigned as a cadet on HMS " Worcester " , which was part of the Thames Nautical Training College , in 1872 . Tōgō found his cadet rations ' inadequate ' : " I swallowed my small rations in a moment . I formed the habit of dipping my bread in my tea and eating a great deal of it , to the surprise of my English comrades . " This was attributed possibly to Tōgō ' s ' Far Eastern metabolism ' , the lack of rice , ' or that some other essential element was missing ; or perhaps the climatic differences sharpened his appetite . ' Perhaps the excitement of his adventure contributed , or maybe Togo just liked the food . Tōgō ' s comrades called him ' Johnny Chinaman ' , being unfamiliar with the ' Orient ' , and not knowing the difference between Asiatic peoples . ' The young " samurai " did not like that , and on more than one occasion he put an end to it by blows . ' Tōgō also surprised these young Englishmen by graduating second in the class . During 1875 , Tōgō circumnavigated the world as an ordinary seaman on the British training - ship " Hampshire " , leaving in February and staying seventy days at sea without a port call until reaching Melbourne , eating only salted meat and ship ' s biscuits . Tōgō ' observed the strange animals on the Southern continent . ' On his return , Tōgō had sailed thirty thousand miles . Tōgō suffered a strange illness which severely threatened his eyesight : ' the patient asked his medical advisers to " try everything " , and some of their experiments were extremely painful . ' Mr . Capel commented later , ' If ' , he wrote , ' I had not seen with my own eyes what a Japanese can suffer without complaint , I should often have been disinclined to believe . . . But , having observed Tōgō , I believe all of them . ' The Harley Street ophthalmologists saved his eyesight . Tōgō studied mathematics in Cambridge ( though not at the University ) during this time , while living with Reverend A . S . Capel . Tōgō then went to Portsmouth to continue his training before attending the Royal Naval College , Greenwich . During his stay , the Imperial Japanese Navy placed orders in Great Britain for three warships . Tōgō made use of the opportunity to apply his training , supervising ( watching carefully ) the construction of the " Fusō " whilst on work experience at the Samuda Brothers shipyard on the Isle of Dogs . Tōgō , newly promoted to lieutenant finally returned to Japan on 22 May 1878 onboard one of the newly purchased British - built ships , the " Hiei " . Tōgō was absent from Japan during the Satsuma Rebellion , and often expressed regret for the fate of his benefactor Saigō Takamori . Franco - Chinese war ( 1884 – 1885 ) . Back in the Imperial Japanese Navy , Tōgō received several commands , first as captain of " Daini Teibo " , and then " Amagi " . During the Franco - Chinese War ( 1884 – 1885 ) , Tōgō , onboard " Amagi " , closely followed the actions of the French fleet under Admiral Courbet . Tōgō also observed the ground combat of the French forces against the Chinese in Formosa ( Taiwan ) , under the guidance of Joseph Joffre , future Commander - in - Chief of French forces during World War I . Sino - Japanese war ( 1894 – 1895 ) . In 1894 , at the beginning of the First Sino - Japanese War , Tōgō , as a captain of the cruiser " Naniwa " , sank the British transport ship , " Kowshing " , which was chartered by the Chinese Beiyang Fleet to convey troops . A report of the incident was sent by Suematsu Kencho to Mutsu Munemitsu . The sinking almost caused a diplomatic conflict between Japan and Great Britain , but it was finally recognized by British jurists as in total conformity with International Law , making Tōgō famous overnight for his mastery of contentious issues involving foreign countries and regulations . The British ship had been ferrying hundreds of Chinese soldiers towards Korea , and these soldiers had mutinied and taken over the ship upon the appearance and threats from the Japanese ships . He later took part in the Battle of the Yalu , with the " Naniwa " as the last ship in the line of battle under the overall command of Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō . Togo was promoted to rear admiral at the end of the war , in 1895 . After the end of the Sino - Japanese War , Tōgō was successively commandant of the Naval War College ( Japan ) , commander of the Sasebo Naval College , and Commander of the Standing Fleet . Russo - Japanese War ( 1904 – 1905 ) . In 1903 , the Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe appointed Tōgō Commander - in - Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy . This astonished many people , including Emperor Meiji , who asked Yamamoto why Tōgō was appointed . Yamamoto replied to the emperor , " Because Tōgō is a man of good fortune " . During the Russo - Japanese War , Tōgō engaged the Russia n navy at Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea in 1904 , and destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 , a battle which shocked the world . " Tsushima " had broken the Russian strength in East Asia , and is said to have triggered various uprisings in the Russian Navy ( 1905 uprisings in Vladivostok and the Battleship " Potemkin " uprising ) , contributing to the Russian Revolution of 1905 . Post war investigations were held of Russian naval leaders during those battles in which Tōgō had prevailed , seeking the reasons behind their utter defeat . The Russian commander of the destroyed Baltic fleet , Admiral Zinovy Rozhdestvenski ( who was badly wounded in the battle ) attempted to take full responsibility for the disaster , and the authorities ( and rulers of Russia ) acquitted him at his trial . However , they made Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov , who had tried to blame the Russian Government , a scapegoat . Nebogatov was found guilty , sentenced to ten years imprisonment in a fortress , but was released by the Tsar after only serving 2 years . Later life . Tōgō kept his journals in English , and wrote that " I am firmly convinced that I am the re - incarnation of Horatio Nelson . " In 1906 , he was made a Member of the British Order of Merit by King Edward VII . Tōgō was Chief of the Naval General Staff and was given the title of " hakushaku " ( Count ) under the " kazoku " peerage system . He also served as a member of the Supreme War Council . In 1913 , Admiral Tōgō received the honorific title of Marshal - Admiral , which is roughly equivalent to the rank of Grand Admiral or Admiral of the Fleet in other navies . From 1914 to 1924 , " Gensui " Tōgō was put in charge of the education of Crown Prince Hirohito , the future Shōwa Emperor . Tōgō publicly expressed a dislike and disinterest for involvement in politics ; however , he did make strong statements against the London Naval Treaty . Tōgō was awarded the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1926 , an honor that was held only by Emperor Hirohito and Prince Kan ' in Kotohito at the time . He added the award to his existing Order of the Golden Kite ( 1st class ) and already existing Order of the Chrysanthemum . His peerage was raised to that of " koshaku " ( marquis ) in 1934 , a day before his death . On his death in 1934 at the age of 86 , he was accorded a state funeral . The navies of Great Britain , United States , Netherlands , France , Italy and China all sent ships to a naval parade in his honour in Tokyo Bay . In 1940 , Tōgō Jinja was built in Harajuku , Tokyo , as the naval rival to the Nogi Shrine erected in the honor of Imperial Japanese Army General Nogi Maresuke . The idea of elevating him to a Shinto " kami " had been discussed before his death , and he had been vehemently opposed to the idea . There is another Tōgō shrine at Tsuyazaki , Fukuoka . The statues to him in Japan include one at Ontaku Shrine , in Agano , Saitama and one in front of the memorial battleship Mikasa in Yokosuka . Tōgō ' s son and grandson also served in the Imperial Japanese Navy . His grandson died in combat during the Pacific War on the heavy cruiser " Maya " at the Battle of Leyte . In 1958 , Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , an admirer of " Gensui " The Marquis Tōgō , helped to finance the restoration of the " Mikasa " , Admiral Tōgō ' s flagship during the Russo - Japanese war . In exchange , Japanese craftsmen assembled a Japanese " Garden of Peace , " a replica of Marshal - Admiral Tōgō ' s garden , at the National Museum of the Pacific War ( formerly known as The Nimitz Museum ) in Fredericksburg , Texas . Honours . " Incorporates information from the corresponding Japanese Wikipedia article " Family . Tōgō ' s wife was Kaeda Tetsu ( 1861 – 1934 ) . The couple had two sons ; the elder son , Takeshi ( 1885 – 1969 ) , succeeded his father as the second Marquess Togo in 1934 and held the title until the " kazoku " was abolished in 1947 . The younger , Rear - Admiral Tōgō Minoru ( 1890 – 1962 ) followed his father into the navy , rising to the rank of rear - admiral and ending his career in 1943 as commander of the naval district in Fukuoka . His elder son Ryoichi , who became a naval lieutenant , was killed in action during the Second World War . Takeshi married Ohara Haruko ( 1899 – 1985 ) ; the couple had one son , Kazuo ( 1919 – 1991 ) and two daughters , Ryoko ( 1917 – 1972 ) and Momoko ( 1925 - ) . Kazuo married Amano Tamiko and had three daughters , Kikuko ( 1948 - ) , Shoko ( 1952 - ) and Muneko ( 1956 - ) . As Kazuo and his wife never had sons , to perpetuate the Tōgō name they adopted their son - in - law , Maruyama Yoshio ( 1942 - ) , the husband of Kikuko . Kikuko and Yoshio have two sons ; the elder , Yoshihisa ( 1971 - ) , married Niimi Miyuki and has two sons , Ryuuta ( 1991 - ) and Masahei ( 1993 - ) .