Takeichi Nishi: Difference between revisions

[[Colonel]] [[Baron]] {{nihongo|'''Takeichi Nishi''' |西 竹一|Nishi Takeichi|extra=July 12, 1902 – c. March 22, 1945}} was an [[Imperial Japanese Army]] officer, [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] [[Show jumping|show jumper]], and [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] [[Gold Medalist]] at the [[1932 Summer Olympics|1932 Los Angeles Olympics]]. He was a tank unit commander at the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] and was [[killed in action]] during the defense of the island.

In 1930, Nishi encountered what would be his favorite horse, Uranus, while in Italy. As the army wouldn't pay for the horse, Nishi bought Uranus with his personal funds. Nishi and Uranus competed in competitions around Europe, doing well. In 1932, when Nishi was a first lieutenant, they participated in the [[1932 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]], winning a gold medal in Equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics show [[jumping]] individual. This remains Japan's only Olympic medal to date in an equestrian event. His victory broke through the general hostility towards Japan that followed from the [[Mukden Incident]] and [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|invasion of Manchuria]]. Westerners, especially Americans, referred to him as '''Baron Nishi'''. He was also popular among [[Japanese American]]s, who were ostracized by American society in this period.

On Iwo Jima in 1945, Nishi commanded the 26th Tank Regiment under the Ogasawara Corps ([[IJA 109th Division]]). He would walk about the island wearing his [[Hermès]] brand riding boots and carrying his favorite [[Crop (implement)|crop]]. The regimental headquarters, which was located near the village of Maruman, was moved to the eastern part of the island when the battle began. Due to the topography of the island, some of the medium [[Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank|Type 97 Chi-Ha medium]] and light [[Type 95 Ha-Go light tank|Type 95 Ha-Go light]] tanks were placed in [[Hull- down|hull]] [[Enfilade and defilade|defilade]] (buried up to their turrets) and used as fortified emplacements, in particular, against the American [[M4 Sherman]]s.

After extensive air and naval gunfire bombardment, the [[United States Marine Corps]] launched an [[amphibious assault]] on Iwo Jima starting February 19. The American forces, who knew that Nishi was an enemy commander, broadcast daily appeals for him to surrender, stating that the world would regret losing "Baron Nishi"; Nishi never responded to those appeals. The American intelligence officer responsible for this attempt was [[Sy Bartlett]] of the 315th Bomber Wing out of [[Guam]], who would later write the novel and film screenplay ''[[Twelve O'Clock High]]'' (1949). In 1966, Bartlett visited Nishi's widow in Tokyo and paid his respects at [[Yasukuni Shrine]].

[[John C. Shively]], in his novel ''The Last Lieutenant'' (2006), recounts a story told by his uncle in which his platoon fires upon a group of Japanese soldiers during the night. In the morning, a body resembling Nishi's was found wearing riding boots and [[jodhpurs]]. Shively's uncle was almost certain that this was the body of Nishi.

Nishi was posthumously promoted to the rank of [[colonel]]. His son [[Yasunori Nishi]] (currently vice president of the Association of Iwo-Jima), succeeded him as the 3rd Baron Nishi. His hereditary title was abolished during the [[OccupiedOccupation of Japan|American occupation of Japan]] after the war.

Uranus died one week after Nishi. In 1990, Uranus was commemorated at the War Horse Memorial in the History and Folklore Museum in [[Honbetsu, Hokkaido|Honbetsu]], [[Hokkaidō]].<!--A more accurate translation from ja would be that "Uranus was restored to a repose of souls for war horses", but I can't think of a way to say this that isn't totally confusing to someone who isn't already familiar with Shintoism. He was also known for being a womanizer.-->

* [[Saburo Shiroyama|Shiroyama Saburō]], ''硫黄島に死す'' (''To die on Iwo Jima''), [[Shinchosha]], 1984, {{ISBN|978-4-10-113316-4}} {{in lang|ja}}

* {{cite web |url= http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv11n2/johv11n2o.pdf |title= Baron Nishi: 1932 Olympic Gold Medalist for Japan |access-date= 2012-06-26 |archive-date= 2010-08-08 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100808011525/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv11n2/johv11n2o.pdf |url-status= dead }}&nbsp;{{small|(251&nbsp;KB)}}, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles

[[Category:Imperial Japanese militaryArmy personnel killed in World War II]]