Kiyoshi Yamamoto

Kiyoshi Yamamoto (December 17, 1883 – July 5, 1960) was a Japanese naval officer, politician, and aristocrat. His final rank was Commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He served as a member of the House of Peers (Count). His court rank was Junior Third Rank, and his order of precedence was the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class (as of 1944).

Regarding family relations, his biological father was Admiral Gonpachi Yamamoto, and Kiyoshi was his eldest son. His wife was Masako, the eldest daughter of Captain Nakakzumi Hirai, a navy paymaster. His brother-in-law included Hyou Takabe and Kazuyoshi Yamaji. His brothers-in-law included his adopted brother Yoshinao Uemura, heir to Hikoji Uemura, and Etsuhiko Matsukata, the eighth son of Masayoshi Matsukata. His eldest daughter, Makiko, was knowledgeable about Central and South America and was acquainted with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Makiko married Keiji Yamamoto (born Abe), a son-in-law of the Yamamoto family, but died from war-related illness. The Yamamoto family name was succeeded by E, who worked at Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries. His third daughter, Tomoko, married Shoji Asabuki, the fourth son of Tsuneichi Asabuki.

Kiyoshi Yamamoto graduated from the 34th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. His classmates included Mineichi Koga, Tokutaro Sumiya, and Noboru Hirata. In 1907 (Meiji 40), he was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant and studied in England during his Lieutenant period. During World War I, he was dispatched as the leader of the Izumo division, which initially belonged to the United States-bound fleet tasked with protecting commerce in North America. Later, he was assigned to the Second Special Task Fleet, where he participated in convoy escort missions in the Mediterranean. In this fleet, Yamamoto served as an executive officer. After the war, he held positions such as Naval Operations staff officer, Vice Chief of the First Foreign Service Fleet, and Vice Commander of the Yokosuka Marine Corps. He was placed on reserve in 1923 (Taisho 13).

During the Showa era, he participated as plenipotentiary envoy at the London Naval Disarmament Conference. He was registered as a temporary employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the death of his father, Gonpachi Yamamoto, in 1933 (Showa 8), he inherited the title of nobility in January of the following year. On July 10, 1939 (Showa 14), he was elected as a Count member of the House of Peers, belonged to an influential study group, and served until May 8, 1946 (Showa 21).

References and footnotes include records from the Asian Historical Records Center, wartime diaries of the warship Izumo, personnel rosters of the Second Special Task Fleet, lists of the House of Peers members, histories of the parliamentary system, official personnel directories, histories of the Naval Academy, and various personnel records.