Count Nogi Maresuke; GCB (?? ??); also known as Kiten. Count Nogi; (25 December 1849-13 September 1912) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from China; and the subsequent massacre of thousands of Chinese civilians. He was a prominent figure in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5; as commander of the forces which captured Port Arthur from the Russians.

He was a national hero in Imperial Japan as a model of feudal loyalty and self-sacrifice; ultimately to the point of suicide. In the Satsuma Rebellion; he lost a banner of the emperor in battle; for which he tried to atone with suicidal bravery in order to recapture it; until ordered to stop. In the Russo-Japanese War; he captured Port Arthur but he felt that he had lost too many of his soldiers; so requested permission to commit suicide; which the emperor refused.

These two events; as well as his desire not to outlive his master (junshi); motivated his suicide on the day of the funeral of the Emperor Meiji. His example revitalized the Japanese tradition of ritual suicide. Pictures From History