Speech of Tomiya Miyazaki, Attorney at Law Representative The Japan Nelson Society.

1. "to be gentlemen before naval officers".
In response to a request from Japan, the British government dispatched a mission to Japan to train Japanese cadets at the Naval Academy. It was Lieutenant Commander Archibald Lucius Douglas who headed the British mission. Douglas arrived in Japan on 28 July 1873 accompanied by 33 officers, petty officers, and seamen.

Douglas famously taught Japanese cadets "to be gentlemen before naval officers". It is said that Douglas and his fellow British instructors disciplined cadets "to be smart". He also had fellow British instructors lecture Japanese instructors and cadets on the legend of Admiral Nelson.

During Douglas' tenure, the Meiji Emperor visited the Naval Academy at 10 o'clock in the morning on 9 January 1875 to attend a commencement ceremony. At one o'clock in the afternoon that same day, Takehei Aso, an assistant professor at the Naval Academy, gave a lecture on the life of Nelson before the Meiji Emperor. The lecture was a biographical sketch of Nelson from his upbringing to his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. In his concluding remarks, Aso said he hoped heroes like Admiral Nelson would emerge from the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Douglas served as head instructor at the Naval Academy from 28 July 1873 to 25 July 1875. During his tenure, the cadets and youth cadets at the Academy included Gonnohyoue Yamamoto, Hikonojo Kamimura, Tomosaburo Kato, Koichi Fujii, and Makoto Saito.

Gonnohyoue Yamamoto was Minister of the Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. He was the one who recommended Heihachiro Togo to the Meiji Emperor as Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy. Later, Yamamoto would become prime minister not once but twice.

Hikonojo Kamimura served as Commander-in-Chief of the 2nd Fleet in the Imperial Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. During the Russo-Japanese War, Tomosaburo Kato served as chief of staff for the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy, and later became prime minister.Makoto Saito was Vice-Minister of the Navy during the same war, and later also became a prime minister. Including these men, many of the cadets who studied under Douglas and the British instructors at the Naval Academy looked up to Admiral Nelson as their model and later became fine leaders and rendered great service to Japan.

Fleet Admiral Marquis Heihachiro Togo was greatly inspired by the Royal Navy. He comes across as a person raised by the Royal Navy. I'd like to share his early life with you.

2. Heihachiro Togo was the fourth child of Kichizaemon Togo and was given the name, Chugoro. Togo was born on 22 December 1847 in the Kagiyacho district of the city of Kagoshima in the Satsuma domain of feudal Japan. The Satsuma domain was also called Shimazu domain because it was ruled by the Shimazu clan. Togo's father was a samurai serving under the Shimazu clan.

In June 1853, Commodore Mathew Calbraith Perry of the East Indian Fleet of the U.S. Navy entered Uraga Harbor near modem Tokyo with four warships, urging Japan's feudal government to open up Japan to the West. After Perry's visit, Japan was in turmoil.

The Satsuma domain started upgrading its navy in 1856. Chugoro came of age in the spring of 1860, becoming a samurai of Satsuma. He was given the adult name, Heihachiro.

In 1862, the Namamugi Incident occurred in which four British nationals were attacked by samurai when traveling through the village of Namamugi. Hisamitsu Shimazu, father of the feudal lord of Satsuma, Mochifusa Shimazu, was travelling home from Edo through the village. The Britons cut across the feudal lord's procession without dismounting, which was against Japanese custom. Shimazu's guards attacked the Britons for disrespecting Shimazu, killing one and seriously injuring two.

One year after the Namamugi Incident, in May 1863, the feudal government paid £100,000 to the United Kingdom. Britain, however, was not satisfied with the payment because the Satsuma domain had refused to execute the assailants.

In July, the Royal Navy entered Kagoshima bay and bombarded the town of Kagoshima, damaging the area. This incident is known as the Anglo-Satsuma War. A 15-year old Togo along with his brothers participated in the war as retainers of the feudal government. They were guarding the resident castle of Lord Satsuma, Tsurumaru Castle.

From his experience in the Anglo-Satsuma War, Togo came to believe that an enemy coming from the sea has to be stopped at sea.On November 1st of the same year, the Satsuma domain paid a fine of £25,000 to the British envoys to settle the dispute stemming from the Namamugi Incident. In the following year, Togo along with his brothers enrolled the naval school of Kaiseijo, which was the Satsuma domain's newly opened institute of western studies.

In 1867, the Satsuma domain purchased a wooden paddle -wheel warship from Great Britain and named it the Kasuga. The Kasuga was a motor sailer with six guns. She weighed 1,290 tons and had a speed of 16 knots.

During a Japanese civil war called the Boshin War, the Satsuma and the Choshu domains fought against feudal government forces as pro-imperial domains. In 1868 during this civil war, Togo joined the Kasuga as a third-class officer and participated in several engagements against ships of the feudal navy. His performance during these engagements was noteworthy.

Later, on 1 December 1870, the Army Ministry of the Meiji government assigned Togo to the warship Ryujo as a midshipman. It was the first time he became a member of the Imperial Navy. The Ryujo was a 2,500-ton warship built in Britain. The Imperial Japanese government purchased the Ryujo from the United States. Sub-Lieutenant Hose of the Royal Marines had been invited to teach gunnery on the Ryujo.

In February of the following year, the Army Ministry decided to select 16 men from among Naval Academy cadets, naval officers and midshipmen, 12 of whom would be sent to the United Kingdom for study, and the rest to the United States. Togo applied for the scholarship and passed the test. He was about to embark on his naval science studies in England. The group of 12 cadets left Yokohama on 2 May 1871 and arrived at Southampton on 4 July. From there, they went first to London. Toward the end of summer, Togo was admitted to the Royal Naval Academy at Gosport headed by the Reverend Bumey. The Academy was located at Clarence Square in Gosport on the opposite shore from the city of Portsmouth. It was said that, during his stay at the Academy, Togo often went to see the Victory moored at Portsmouth.
It was there that he learned about Nelson's words and deeds.

In the following year of 1872, Togo spent the summer and autumn in Cambridge, where he studied mathematics under the Reverend A.D. Capel. Afterwards, he moved back to London to prepare for higher education while staying at a boarding house. Togo wanted to enroll in the Royal Naval Academy at Dartmouth, but was already 25 years old and unable to do so. Instead, he studied at the Worcester Mercantile Marine School.

The cadets at the Worcester Mercantile Marine School lived and trained on a ship called the HMS Worcester. The HMS Worcester was a school ship moored at Greenhithe on the Thames and sometimes went to sea. The school's administrative office and auditorium were located on land at an old monastery. The school was originally called the Thames Marine Officer Training School, HMS Worcester. The name of the school was later changed to the Thames Nautical Training College, HMS Worcester.

In August 1873, Togo passed the entrance exam and was admitted to Worcester Mercantile Marine School. The principle at that time was Captain Henderson Smith. Captain Smith warmly looked after Togo. Togo kept a journal while there, and wrote on 14 September 1874 that the HMS Worcester lay at anchor in Spithead. It is safe to say that Togo visited the Victory at that time. He probably received some kind of training on the Victory. The Worcester Mercantile Marine School was the only formal school that he attended during his entire naval career in both England and Japan. Long after graduating Togo continued to have a profound attachment to his old school.

As I will mention again later, Togo returned to England in 1911 and visited the Thames Nautical Training College, HMS Worcester. There he gave a speech in English and called England his "second home". During this visit, he donated his personal battle flag to the college. This flag had flown from the mizzenmast of the Mikasa, the flagship of the Combined Fleet, during the Battle of Tsushima . This donation demonstrated his profound attachment to his old college. Togo studied for three terms at the Worcester Mercantile Marine School. He left the school on 9 December 1874.
One year later, in February 1875, he set sail around the world via Melbourne as a midshipman on the training sailing ship Hampshire (1,214 tons). At the end of September of the same year, he returned to England. Afterwards, he revisited Cambridge, where he studied celestial navigation under the guidance of the Reverend Capel. In January 1876, the Japanese government was awaiting completion of three battleships, the Fuso, the Hiei and the Kongo, which it had commissioned Britain to build. Japanese cadets studying in England, including Togo, were ordered to stay in England until these newly built battleships were completed. So, Togo moved from Cambridge to Greenwich to continue his studies of celestial navigation.

On 30 January 1878, the Japanese cadets were divided up and ordered to board their individually assigned battleships. Togo boarded the Hiei, which was navigated by British crew. The Hiei left Milford Haven on 23 March and arrived at Yokohama on 22 May 1878. Togo had been residing and studying in England for nearly seven years, from 1871 to 1878. There is no doubt in my mind that he had learned about the words and deeds of Admiral Nelson and had come to admire the Admiral. This is clearly demonstrated in the congratulatory telegram that Togo sent to the British organizers of the Admiral Nelson Centennial Celebration on 21 October 1905.
Togo's message in the telegram read: "On the occasion of your Naval centenary, I have to express our ever increasing admiration and devotion to the great Admiral. This feeling is more intense when we recall that our Navy was built up after the model of the British Navy."

3. The Battle of Japan Sea (the Battle of Tsushima) lasted two days, from 27 May to 28 May 1905. During the battle. Admiral Heihachiro Togo headed the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy as Commander-in-Chiefand destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet (more precisely, the 2nd and 3rd Russian Pacific Fleets) coming from a great distance.

The Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy that engaged in the naval battle consisted of four battleships, the Mikasa, the Shikishima, the Fuji and the Asahi - all of which were built in Britain; eight armored cruisers, the Kasuga, the Nisshin, the Izumo, iheAzuma, the Toki-wa, the Yagumo, the Asama and the Iwate, - out of which four, the Izumo, the Tokiwa, the Asama and the Iwate were built in Britain; four armored coast defense ships; twelve cruisers; 21 destroyers; and many other ships, amounting to a total of 91 ships with a displacement of 209,684 tons.

On the other side, the Baltic Fleet consisted of eight battleships, three armored cruisers, three armored coastal defense ships, six cruisers, nine destroyers, and nine auxiliary vessels, amounting to a total of 38 ships with a
displacement of 214,320 tons.

Around 13:39 on 27 May, the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy was heading west in the area to the north of Okinoshima Island in Tsushima Straits. After sighting the Baltic Fleet heading northeast in Tsushima Straits, Togo had the Z signal flag raised to the top of the mast of the flagship Mikasa at 14:55. The Z signal flag meant, "The survival of the Nation rests on this battle. Make the utmost effort." This appears to have been modeled on the incident in which Admiral Nelson had a flag raised to the top of the mast of his flagship. Victory, signaling "England expects that every man will do his duty" before charging into the enemy fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.

At 14:05, Togo had the fleet turn hard to port to battle the Baltic Fleet in a parallel line. The Baltic Fleet started firing at 14:08. Togo, on the other hand, waited a little while longer and commenced firing at 14:10. A heavy exchange of fire followed, and lasted for 47 minutes. Taking advantage of the superior speeds of their ships, the Imperial Navy tried to move ahead of the Baltic Fleet along its course. The Japanese Navy was executing the "Crossing the T" tactic.

The Imperial Navy focused firing their guns at the flagship Suvorov of the 1st fleet, and the flagship Oslyabya of the 2nd fleet. During the battle, Togo continued to give orders with dignity, standing on the bridge of the Mikasa. He never entered the conning tower. The enemy fleet focused firing their guns on the flagship Mikasa, injuring and killing many Japanese sailors. Fortunately, Togo did not receive any enemy shots. When the Meiji Emperor asked the Minister of the Navy, Gonnohyoue Yamamoto, why he had recommended Togo as Commander -in-Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy, Yamamoto was said to reply "Because Togo is a man of good fortune." Togo indeed demonstrated his good fortune during this fierce battle.

The victory of the Japanese fleet was nearly decisive when both the leading flagship Suvorov and flagship Oslyabya were set ablaze in the enemy battle line during the 47-minute salvo and started breaking off from the battle line.

At 14:57, the Japanese 1st fleet made a sudden and simultaneous 90 –degree turn to port. Commander Tetsutaro Sato, staff officer of the 2nd Japanese fleet, assessed that the Suvorov's turn to the north was due to rudder failure. Sato proposed to Commander-in-Chief Hikonojo Kamimura of the 2" Japanese fleet that they should go straight ahead and continue to fight. Vice Admiral Kamimura agreed and ordered his fleet to go straight ahead and continue engaging the enemy fleet. Because of this attack, the Oslyabya was sunk and the Russian fleet was unable to escape to the north by sailing along the eastern side of the Japanese fleet.

Why did Admiral Togo order the simultaneous 90-degree turn to port after seeing the Suvorov make a turn northward? It is probably because either he thought the Russian fleet was trying to escape to the north by following the Japanese fleet or because he was trying to avoid torpedoes from the Russian cruisers, which were rapidly approaching the Japanese fleet. Either way, I suspect that Togo's simultaneous 90-degree turns could have been a problematic tactic. As I mentioned earlier, the 2nd fleet went straight ahead and continued to fight. If it hadn't done so, many of the ships in the Russian fleet would have been able to sail alongside the Japanese fleet and escape to the north. The Japanese fleet only lost three torpedo boats during the two-day Battle of Tsushima. Yet, the Japanese fleet sunk 19 Russian ships (six of which were battleships), captured five ships (two of which were battleships) and captured about 6,000 men including the admiral. Only one Russian cruiser and two destroyers made it back to Vladivostok. Without the 2" fleet's move, it is doubtful that the Japanese fleet would have achieved such an unprecedented victory in world naval history.

At that time. Commander Tetsutaro Sato (who would later become vice admiral) was a military strategist bearing comparison with Commander Saneyuki Akiyama, a staff officer of the Combined Fleet. On the recommendation of the Chief of the Military Affairs Bureau, Gonnohyoe Yamamoto, then Lieutenant Commander Sato was sent to study as resident military officer in Britain and the United States between July 1899 and October 1900. Sato lived in England between July 1899 and May 1900 and studied Nelson's naval battles there.

A well-known modem Japanese author, Ryotaro Shiba, in the section of his novel Saka no Ue no Kumo (Cloud above the Hill) describing the Battle of Tsushima states that the aforementioned action taken by Kamimura's fleet (t he 2nd fleet) during the Battle of Tsushima brilliantly demonstrated the lesson of "The Nelson Touch".

4. In preparation for the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson summoned ...