KODAMA GENTARO

(b. March 16, 1852, Tokuyama, Japand. July 23, 1906, Tokyo) Japanese army general and statesman of the Meiji period. Kodama, born into the samurai class, fought in several battles before enrolling in the Osaka Heigakuryo (military training school). He was commissioned in 1881, and, as bureau chief of the General Staff, he upgraded and modernized the army military system. While serving as president of the Army War College, Kodama toured Europe in 1891 to observe Western methods of military training. In 1892 he became vice-minister of war, and in 1898 he was appointed governor-general of Taiwan. In the fourth cabinet of Ito Hirobumi (190001) Kodama served as minister of war. Under Prime Minister Katsura Taro he retained that position, also serving concurrently as minister of interior and minister of education. During the Russo-Japanese War (190405) he was chief of staff for the Japanese forces in Manchuria, and in the following year he became chief of the General Staff.