1. Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi was an Imperial Japanese Army officer, equestrian show jumper, and Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
24 Facts About Takeichi Nishi
1. 2.
Takeichi Nishi was the illegitimate third son of Tokujiro Nishi, a danshaku.
3.
Takeichi Nishi's mother was not married to Tokujiro and was forced to leave the house soon after giving birth.
4.
Takeichi Nishi's father had various high-level positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Imperial Privy Council, leading up to ambassador to China's Qing dynasty during the Boxer Rebellion.
5.
In September 1917, Takeichi Nishi entered Hiroshima Army Cadet School, a military preparatory school established on Prussian models, and in 1920 took courses at Tokyo Central Cadet Academy.
6.
Takeichi Nishi completed his studies at Central Cadet School in six months in April 1920, due to the reorganization of the military schools, and began courses at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy.
7.
Takeichi Nishi went on to the First Cavalry after graduating from Army Cavalry School.
8.
In 1930, Takeichi Nishi encountered what would be his favorite horse, Uranus, while in Italy.
9.
In 1932, when Takeichi Nishi was a first lieutenant, they participated in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, winning a gold medal in Equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics show jumping individual.
10.
Takeichi Nishi's victory broke through the general hostility towards Japan that followed from the Mukden Incident and invasion of Manchuria.
11.
Takeichi Nishi was popular among Japanese Americans, who were ostracized by American society in this period.
12.
Takeichi Nishi was reassigned the regimental commander of the 26th Tank Regiment, based in Mudanjiang, in northern Manchukuo on defensive duties.
13.
Takeichi Nishi eventually gained the rank of lieutenant colonel in August 1943.
14.
Takeichi Nishi briefly returned to Tokyo to obtain replacement tanks, and eventually received 22 of them.
15.
On Iwo Jima in 1945, Takeichi Nishi commanded the 26th Tank Regiment under the Ogasawara Corps.
16.
Takeichi Nishi would walk about the island wearing his Hermes brand riding boots and carrying his favorite crop.
17.
The circumstances of Takeichi Nishi's death are unknown and subject to competing theories.
18.
Takeichi Nishi was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel and awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
19.
In 2012 Yasunori Takeichi Nishi was appointed vice-chairman of Iwo Jima Association of Japan and attended the 68th Reunion of Honor held on the island in 2013.
20.
The film portrays Takeichi Nishi as being close friends with General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, but in reality, the two had some disagreements.
21.
Takeichi Nishi ignored Kuribayashi's prohibition on using precious water to wash tanks, as well as the general's orders to punish soldiers who did so.
22.
An anecdote repeated by Kakehashi Kumiko in the February 2006 issue of Bungei Shunju magazine is that in the final days of the battle, as the number of commanding officers who refused to put their men in caves increased, Takeichi Nishi agreed that they should go out and fight together.
23.
Ono Kaoru's biography of Takeichi Nishi gives credence to this as an actual event.
24.
The film portrays Takeichi Nishi as having taken his own life after being wounded and blinded during the battle.