The Most Famous

MILITARY PERSONNELS from Japan

Icon of occuation in country

This page contains a list of the greatest Japanese Military Personnels. The pantheon dataset contains 2,058 Military Personnels, 75 of which were born in Japan. This makes Japan the birth place of the 6th most number of Military Personnels behind Russia, and United Kingdom.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Military Personnels of all time. This list of famous Japanese Military Personnels is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Military Personnels.

Photo of Oda Nobunaga

1. Oda Nobunaga (1534 - 1582)

With an HPI of 77.49, Oda Nobunaga is the most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 73 different languages on wikipedia.

Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長, [oda nobɯ(ꜜ)naɡa] ; 23 June 1534 – 21 June 1582) was a Japanese daimyō and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the Tenka-bito (天下人, lit. 'person under heaven') and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven". Nobunaga was an influential figure in Japanese history and is regarded as one of the three great unifiers of Japan, along with his retainers, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Nobunaga paved the foundations for the successful reigns of Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. The period when Nobunaga and Hideyoshi were in power is called the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The name "Azuchi–Momoyama" comes from the fact that Nobunaga's castle, Azuchi Castle, was located in Azuchi, Shiga; while Fushimi Castle, where Hideyoshi lived after his retirement, was located in Momoyama. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan and launched a war against other daimyō to unify Japan in the 1560s. Nobunaga emerged as the most powerful daimyō, overthrowing the nominally ruling shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and dissolving the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573. He conquered most of Honshu by 1580, and defeated the Ikkō-ikki rebels in the 1580s. Nobunaga's rule was noted for innovative military tactics, fostering of free trade, reforms of Japan's civil government, and the start of the Momoyama historical art period, but also for the brutal suppression of those who refused to cooperate or yield to his demands. Nobunaga killed himself during the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide ambushed and trapped him in a temple in Kyoto; upon realizing he was surrounded, he committed seppuku. Nobunaga was succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who along with Tokugawa Ieyasu completed his war of unification shortly afterward.

Photo of Tokugawa Ieyasu

2. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 - 1616)

With an HPI of 75.07, Tokugawa Ieyasu is the 2nd most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 75 different languages.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as ally, vassal, and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance to Toyotomi and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength during Toyotomi's failed attempts to conquer Korea. After Hideyoshi's death and the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu seized power in 1600. He received appointment as shōgun in 1603, and voluntarily resigned from his position in 1605, although he still held the de facto control of government until his death in 1616. He implemented a set of careful rules known as the bakuhan system, designed to keep the daimyo and samurai in check under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Photo of Isoroku Yamamoto

3. Isoroku Yamamoto (1884 - 1943)

With an HPI of 73.79, Isoroku Yamamoto is the 3rd most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 61 different languages.

Isoroku Yamamoto (山本 五十六, Yamamoto Isoroku, April 4, 1884 – April 18, 1943) was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Navy, and undertook many of its changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the commander-in-chief during the early years of the Pacific War and oversaw major engagements including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. Yamamoto was killed in April 1943 after American code breakers identified his flight plans, enabling the United States Army Air Forces to shoot down his aircraft.

Photo of Hattori Hanzō

4. Hattori Hanzō (1542 - 1597)

With an HPI of 70.64, Hattori Hanzō is the 4th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Hattori Hanzō (服部 半蔵, c. 1542 – January 2, 1597) or Second Hanzō, nicknamed Oni no Hanzō (鬼の半蔵, Demon Hanzō), was a famous samurai of the Sengoku era, who served the Tokugawa clan as a general, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. He is often a subject of various portrayals in modern popular culture. Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master of sword fighting, and was included in cultural sobriquet as one of Tokugawa's 16 divine generals (Tokugawa jūrokushinshō). He became known as the Second Hanzō. He would later earn the nickname Oni no Hanzō (鬼の半蔵, Demon Hanzō) because of the fearless tactics he displayed in his operations; this moniker also distinguished him from Watanabe Hanzō (Watanabe Moritsuna), who is nicknamed Yari no Hanzō (槍の半蔵, Spear Hanzō).

Photo of Saigō Takamori

5. Saigō Takamori (1828 - 1877)

With an HPI of 70.22, Saigō Takamori is the 5th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Saigō Takamori (or Takanaga) (西鄕 隆盛 [隆永], January 23, 1828 – September 24, 1877) was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji government. Historian Ivan Morris described him as "the quintessential hero of modern Japanese history".

Photo of Hiroo Onoda

6. Hiroo Onoda (1922 - 2014)

With an HPI of 69.11, Hiroo Onoda is the 6th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo, 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a Japanese second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. One of the last Japanese holdouts, he continued fighting for decades after the war's end in 1945. For almost 29 years, Onoda carried out guerrilla warfare on Lubang Island in the Philippines, on several occasions engaging in shootouts with locals and the police. Onoda initially held out with three other soldiers: one surrendered in 1950, and two who were killed, one in 1954 and one in 1972. They did not believe flyers saying that the war was over. Onoda was contacted in 1974 by a Japanese explorer, but still refused to surrender until he was relieved of duty by his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who flew from Japan to Lubang to issue the order. Onoda surrendered on 10 March 1974 and received a hero's welcome when he returned to Japan. That year he wrote and published his autobiography. He later followed his brother to Brazil, where he joined an established Japanese immigrant community in Mato Grosso do Sul. He set up a cattle ranch. After 1984, he spent three months a year in Brazil and the rest of his time in Japan.

Photo of Minamoto no Yoshitsune

7. Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 - 1189)

With an HPI of 68.84, Minamoto no Yoshitsune is the 7th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune (源 義経, c. 1159 – June 15, 1189) was a commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles that toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally and was labelled as a tragic hero.

Photo of Chūichi Nagumo

8. Chūichi Nagumo (1887 - 1944)

With an HPI of 68.04, Chūichi Nagumo is the 8th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Chūichi Nagumo (南雲 忠一, Nagumo Chūichi, 25 March 1887 – 6 July 1944) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the Kido Butai, in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean raid and the Battle of Midway. He never recovered from the crushing defeat at Midway, and committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan.

Photo of Akechi Mitsuhide

9. Akechi Mitsuhide (1526 - 1582)

With an HPI of 67.14, Akechi Mitsuhide is the 9th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Akechi Mitsuhide (明智 光秀, March 10, 1528 – July 2, 1582), first called Jūbei from his clan and later Koretō Hyūga no Kami (惟任日向守) from his title, was a Japanese samurai general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of the trusted generals under daimyō Oda Nobunaga during his war of political unification in Japan. Mitsuhide rebelled against Nobunaga for unknown reasons in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, forcing the unprotected Nobunaga to commit seppuku in Kyoto. Mitsuhide attempted to establish himself as shōgun, but was pursued by Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi and defeated at the Battle of Yamazaki. The 13-days short reign of Mitsuhide is listed as the inspiration for the yojijukugo set phrase mikkatenka (三日天下, short-lived reign). He is still popular in present culture. A ceremonial activity was held on April 15, 2018, in Kyoto.

Photo of Tokugawa Yoshinobu

10. Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837 - 1913)

With an HPI of 67.07, Tokugawa Yoshinobu is the 10th most famous Japanese Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu (德川 慶喜, also known as Keiki; October 28, 1837 – November 22, 1913) was the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming at keeping some political influence. After these efforts failed following the defeat at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in early 1868, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his life.

People

Pantheon has 91 people classified as Japanese military personnels born between 758 and 1948. Of these 91, 1 (1.10%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese military personnels include George W. Casey Jr.. The most famous deceased Japanese military personnels include Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Isoroku Yamamoto. As of April 2024, 13 new Japanese military personnels have been added to Pantheon including Wakisaka Yasuharu, Shūmei Ōkawa, and Tōdō Takatora.

Living Japanese Military Personnels

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Deceased Japanese Military Personnels

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Newly Added Japanese Military Personnels (2024)

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Overlapping Lives

Which Military Personnels were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Military Personnels since 1700.