Terauchi Masatake
Gensui Count Terauchi Masatake (Japanese: 寺内 正毅), GCB (5 February 1852 – 3 November 1919), was a Japanese military officer and politician.[1] He was a Gensui (or Marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army and the Prime Minister of Japan from 1916 to 1918.
In this Japanese name, the surname is Terauchi.
CountTerauchi Masatake
Meiji
Taishō
5 February 1852
Yamaguchi, Chōshū Domain (Japan)
3 November 1919 (aged 67)
Tokyo, Japan
Terauchi Taki (1862–1920)
Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
Order of the Golden Kite (1st Class)
Order of the Bath (Honorary Knight Grand Cross)
1871–1910
Field Marshal (Gensui) 
Biography[edit]
Military career[edit]
Terauchi Masatake was born in Hirai Village, Suo Province (present-day Yamaguchi city, Yamaguchi Prefecture), and was the third son of Utada Masasuke, a samurai in the service of Chōshū Domain. He was later adopted by a relative on his mother's side of the family, Terauchi Kanuemon, and changed his family name to "Terauchi".
As a youth, he was a member of the Kiheitai militia from 1864, and fought in the Boshin War against the Tokugawa shogunate from 1867, most notably at the Battle of Hakodate. After the victory at Hakodate, he travelled to Kyoto, where he joined the Ministry of War and was drilled by French instructors in Western weaponry and tactics. He became a member of Emperor Meiji's personal guard in 1870 and travelled with the Emperor to Tokyo. He left military service in 1871 to pursue language studies, but was recalled with the formation the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army in 1871 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after attending the Army's Toyama School. He was appointed to the staff of the new Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1873. he fought in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 and was injured and lost his right hand during the Battle of Tabaruzaka. His physical disability did not prove to be an impediment to his future military and political career.
In 1882, he was sent to France as aide-de-camp to Prince Kan'in Kotohito and was appointed a military attaché the following year. He remained in France for studies until 1886. On his return to Japan, he was appointed deputy secretary to the Minister of the Army. In 1887, he became commandant of the Army Academy. In 1891, he was chief of staff to the IJA 1st Division and in 1892 was Chief of the First Bureau (Operations) of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff.
With the start of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Terauchi was appointed Secretary of Transportation and Communication for the Imperial General Headquarters, which made him responsible for all movement of troops and supplies during the war. In 1896, he was assigned command of the IJA 3rd Infantry Brigade. In 1898, he was promoted to become the first Inspector General of Military Training, which he made one of the three highest positions in the army. In 1900, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, and went to China to personally oversee Japanese force during the Boxer Rebellion
Legacy[edit]
Terauchi's eldest son, Count Terauchi Hisaichi, was the commander of the Imperial Japanese Army's Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II. The 2nd Count Terauchi also held the rank of Gensui (or Marshal) like his father. Terauchi's eldest daughter married Count Hideo Kodama, the son of General Kodama Gentaro.