JAPANESE LEADERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8029, 6 June 1904, Page 3

JAPANESE LEADERS.

THE VON MOLTKE OF THE ISLAND EMPIRE. "FIGHTING KUROKI." . The following references by a correspondent of the London " Standard," tracing the careers of General Kodama and General Kuroki, are of interest, now that their names are coming prominently to the front. Kodama is referred to as the "brains" of the Japanese army, while Kuroki, the hero of the Yalu, is presented in a character that has been fully borne out by recent events : — "The man who is responsible for the plan of campaign is General Kodama. He is the brain of the Japanese army. I sat next him at lunch the other day, in the Nobles' Club, and he talked flowers and Formosa. He knew that I was thinking of Korea. 'If you come to Formosa I will give you a good time.' The Baron is Governor of that beautiful island, as well as Assistant Chief of the Staff. 'There are flowers in Formosa, * said the General with a smile. From a dainty bowl of blue and white he took a sweet-scented lily, and put it into my hand. In exchange T gave him a compliment that pleased him. Baron Kodama is like Lord Boberts. He has the alert figure, the soldierly bearing, and the keen face. The likeness is remarkable, and I told him co. ' But lam not yet a FieldMarshal,' laughed the General, pointing to the three stars on the sleeve of his tunic. ' That will come,' I replied. "General Gentare Kodama comes of a fighting raoe. He was bom half a century ago in the Province of Choshu, one of the four great Daimiates, or feudal clans, that have given an unbroken succession of warriors and leaders* to Japan. The province in which General Kodama was born played a foremost part in the revolution tha* overthrew the Shogun and restored the authority of the Mikado. His clansmen were the first to lay aside armour and sword and spear, and to adopt the rifle and discipline and tactics of Europe. Baron Kodama was sixteen years , old when japan threw off her feudal chains. His father died in his fifth year, and left him to the care of a son-in-law, who seven years later was the victim of political assassins. At thirteen Kodama was struggling with poverty and family responsibility. The revolution, swept him into the forces arraigned against feudalism, and when only sixteen he was fighting the Daimois and their two-sworded retainers, who had rujed the land for eight centuries. "He is a man of strong character, a_xd possesses* in no small degree the ind«Bnable quality known as personal magnetism. He has that infinite capacity for taking pains which Michael Angelo called genius. Night and day he sits at his desk attending to the multitudinous details of a great war ; yet his dobrtys never closed upon a friend, or even a stranger who has the least claim to his attention. During the Chinese war he suffered in health from the continuous strain of work, and has since adopted a> severe regime in food and drink, with the result that at fifty he is a young man, brimful of energy and high spirits. He ta_*es a Jively interest in education ; has been a Director of the Military -wademy ; founded the Formosa College in Tokio; and gave his books and his money to establish a library for poor students in his native town. Baron Kodama is certainly a man who inspires confidence. One fault only have I to find with his Excellency— be does not speak English. But, ais he explained, that defect is being remedied in the younger generation df soldiers, who, since the Boer war, have discovered that there are armies outside France and Germany. Captain Tanaka, the Baron's aide-de-camp, is a typical example of the new schools. His knowledge of England is not confined to our language— it extends to our military history in ita obscurest details. "The execution of the plan of oampaign has heen entrusted to General Kuroki. He is the first to take the field, and commands the First Army, which is composed of the Imperial Guards, the Second Division and the Twelfth Division. Kuroki is a famous fighting general, renowned throughout the East for courage and dating and

energy. The blows he strikes will be swift and strong, and those who follow him will eea much blood flew. Born in the Province of Satsuma, sixty-one years ago, Baron Kuroki springs from the warrior class, was trained from infancy in lessons of courage, and endurance, and chivalry. In the devolution he fought for the Emperor, and m 1871 received his company. Six years later he marched to the relief of Kumamoto Castle, where the Imperial troops were besieged by his own Satsmna clan. V\ nem this civil war ended he joined the statf, and in 1885 was promoted to the ran* ot major-general. IVuring the war with urni*. the Baron was at first engaged m the wort ! of mobilisation, but when the struggle developed he went to the front as heutenant- ; general, and led one of the divisi ons that took Wei-hai-wei after a desperate <kfea» by the Chinese."