Template:POTD/2020-09-13
Nogi Maresuke (25 December 1849 – 13 September 1912) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. His career included action in the Satsuma Rebellion and the First Sino-Japanese War. He was recalled to active service in the Russo-Japanese War, and made a report directly to Emperor Meiji during a Gozen Kaigi at the end of the war. When explaining battles during the Siege of Port Arthur in detail, he broke down and wept, apologizing for the 56,000 lives lost in the campaign and asking to be allowed to kill himself in atonement. The emperor told him that suicide was unacceptable, as all responsibility for the war was due to imperial orders, and that Nogi must remain alive, at least as long as he himself lived. Emperor Meiji died in 1912, and Nogi and his wife Shizuko committed suicide shortly after the funeral cortège left the palace.Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden