Tatsumi Naofumi Early life . Also known as in his youth , Tatsumi was born in the Kuwana domain ' s ( Ise Province , present - day Mie Prefecture ) Edo residence , to Kuwana retainer Machida Dendayu , and was later adopted by his uncle , Tatsumi Johei . At age five , the young Tatsumi went to Kuwana with his adoptive father , and at age 8 entered the domain school , " Rikkyokan , " studying literature and martial arts , and receiving a commendation for academic excellence at age 15 . Soon after , Matsudaira Sadaaki became " daimyo " of Kuwana , and Tatsumi became his page , with a 180 " koku " stipend . Together with Matsudaira Sadaaki , he left for Edo in 1861 , where was permitted to attend the elite Shogunate school at Shoheiko , and where he was hailed as a prodigy . Soldier in the Boshin War . When Matsudaira Sadaaki was appointed as " Kyoto Shoshidai , " Tatsumi followed him to Kyoto , where he served as a liaison with other domains . It was in this role that he met many of the men who would later become famous in the Meiji period , including Katsura Kogoro , Ōkubo Toshimichi , and Saigō Takamori . Before long , though , he was transferred back to Edo and entered the Tokugawa bakufu ' s French - trained infantry . His French military instructors were said to have remarked , " Tatsumi is a genius of a soldier . " He later served in the " Bakufu ' s " 3rd Infantry Regiment . During the Battle of Toba - Fushimi , he was in Edo . When Matsudaira Sadaaki returned , Tatsumi advocated continued military opposition to the Imperial army . He followed his lord , and the Kuwana retainers remaining in Edo , and to Echigo Province by sea , where they hoped to establish themselves in the former Shogunal territory of Kashiwazaki . Tatsumi organized the remaining Kuwana retainers into three units — the " Raijintai , " the " Jinputai " , and the " Chinintai " . Elections were held to determine the commanders of each unit , and Tatsumi became commander of the " Raijintai " , and his elder brother Machida Ronoshin became commander of the " Jinputai " . Through well - coordinated guerilla tactics , Tatsumi managed to fight his way to Kashiwazaki . Joining up with Matsudaira Sadaaki in Kashiwazaki , he continued to fight against the new government ' s army , first independently , and then in concert with the Nagaoka domain . However , when Nagaoka was defeated , the Kuwana forces went further north , to Aizu , the domain of Matsudaira Sadaaki ' s birth brother , Matsudaira Katamori . Tatsumi fought in the Aizu campaign , and led the Kuwana forces north on Matsudaira Sadaaki ' s orders , surrendering in the Shonai domain some time later . Under the Meiji government . Following the end of the Boshin War , Tatsumi was placed in confinement , and changed his given name to Naofumi . Pardoned by the new government , Tatsumi joined the Imperial Japanese Army with the rank of major in June 1877 . He served as chief - of - staff of the " Shinsenryodan , " a unit composed of former Kuwana retainers and members of the " Shinsengumi , " in the Satsuma Rebellion . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1884 and to colonel in November 1887 . Promoted to major general in June 1894 , he served in the First Sino - Japanese War , distinguished by his role in the 1894 Battle of Pyongyang . He was promoted to lieutenant general in October 1898 . During the Russo - Japanese War , he was commander of the 8th Infantry Division . Two of the principal battles of his military career were at Sandepu and Mukden in 1905 . He was promoted to full general in May of the following year . He later served as head of the Army War College and as head of Japanese forces in Taiwan . He was ennobled with the rank of " danshaku " ( baron ) under the " kazoku " peerage system in August 1895 .