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==Family and early life==
Nishi was born in the [[Azabu]] district of [[Tokyo]]. He was the illegitimate third son of [[Tokujirō Nishi]], a ''danshaku'' ([[baron]] under the ''[[kazoku]]'' peerage system). His mother was not married to Tokujirō and was forced to leave the house soon after giving birth. His father had various high-level positions in the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and Imperial [[Privy Council (Japan)|Privy Council]], leading up to Ambassador to [[China]]'s [[Qing Dynasty]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]].
 
Nishi went to [[Gakushuin]] pre-school and, while in elementary school, repeatedly got into fights with students of nearby Bancho elementary school. In 1912, at the age of 10, he succeeded to the title of Baron upon the death of his father. In 1915, he entered Tokyo First Junior High School (now [[Hibiya High School]]) in accordance with the dying wishes of his father; his classmates included [[Hideo Kobayashi]], future pre-eminent [[literary criticism|literary critic]], and [[Hisatsune Sakomizu]], who would be Chief Cabinet Secretary in 1945.
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[[File:Baronnishi.jpg|thumb|250px|Takeichi Nishi with Uranus at the 1932 Summer Games]]
 
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.
 
During his stay in [[Los Angeles]], Nishi became the topic of conversation both for his love of driving [[convertible (car)|convertible]]s around town and for becoming part of the [[social circle]] led by movie legend [[Charlie Chaplin]], movie star couple [[Mary Pickford]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks]]. <!--http://kids.britannica.com/olympics/reflections/article-9397295-->
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After the Olympics, he was reassigned to the 16th Narashino Cavalry Regiment and promoted to be a cavalry instructor at the regimental school with the rank of captain, which he was promoted to in August 1933.
 
Nishi and Uranus participated in the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]], [[Germany]] but Nishi fell off his horse mid-course. There is speculation this was intentional and done for the benefit of host country [[Nazi Germany]], with whom Japan would sign the 1940 [[Tripartite Pact]], forming the [[Axis Powers of World War II|Axis Powers]]. The [[Equestrian at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Show Jumping individual event]] gold medal was won by Germany. Following this, Nishi was reposted to the Tokachi Subdivision of the department responsible for supply of military horses. He was promoted to major in March 1939.
 
==War years to Iwo Jima==
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