Editing Isoroku Yamamoto

{{Short description|Japanese admiral (1884–1943)}}
{{Redirect|Admiral Yamamoto|the Japanese admiral who served as prime minister in 1913–1914 and 1923–1924|Yamamoto Gonnohyōe|the 1968 Japanese epic war film|Admiral Yamamoto (film)}}
{{Eastern name order|Yamamoto Isoroku}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Isoroku Yamamoto
| honorific_suffix = [[Senior Third Rank]]
| native_name   = 山本 五十六
| native_name_lang = ja
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1884|04|04}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1943|04|18|1884|04|04}}
| birth_place   = [[Nagaoka, Niigata]], [[Empire of Japan]]
| death_place   = near [[Panguna]], [[Autonomous Region of Bougainville |Bougainville]], [[Japanese occupation of New Guinea|Territory of New Guinea]]
| placeofburial = [[Tama Cemetery]], Tokyo{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=294}}
| image         = Portrait of Yamamoto Isoroku.jpg
| image_size    = 
| caption       = Admiral Yamamoto, {{circa|1940}}
| alma_mater    = [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy]]<br />[[Harvard University]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|Reiko Mihashi|1918}}
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = Empire of Japan
| branch        = Japanese Navy
| serviceyears  = 1904–1943
| rank          = [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-9-shoulder.svg|15px]] [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-9-collar.svg|25px]] [[File:元帥徽章.svg|25px]] [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal Admiral]] (posthumous)
| commands      = {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Isuzu||2}}, {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}}, [[First Carrier Division|1st Carrier Division]], [[Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau|Naval Aviation Bureau]], [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|1st Fleet]], [[Combined Fleet]], 1st Battleship Division<ref>[http://navalhistory.flixco.info/G/131432x19846(a90670z2e79211)/8330/a0.htm Yamamoto Isoroku] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414020046/http://navalhistory.flixco.info/G/131432x19846(a90670z2e79211)/8330/a0.htm |date=April 14, 2016 }}. navalhistory.flixco.info</ref>
| unit          = 
| battles       = {{tree list}}
* '''[[Russo-Japanese War]]'''
** [[Battle of Tsushima]]{{WIA}}
* '''[[World War II]]'''
** [[Pacific War]]
*** [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
*** [[Operation MI]]
*** [[New Guinea campaign]]
**** [[Operation I-Go]]
*** [[Solomon Islands campaign]]
**** [[Guadalcanal campaign]]
***** [[Operation Ke]]
**** [[Operation I-Go]]
**** [[Operation Vengeance]]{{KIA}}
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = {{plainlist|
* [[Order of the Chrysanthemum|Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum]] (posthumous) 
* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross#Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords|Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords]]<ref>[http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/131432/8330/a0.htm Yamamoto Isoroku]. navalhistory.flixco.info</ref>
}}
| family        = 
| laterwork     = [[Ministry of the Navy (Japan)|Vice-Minister of the Navy]]
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Isoroku Yamamoto'''|山本 五十六|Yamamoto Isoroku|April 4, 1884&nbsp;– April 18, 1943}} was a [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal Admiral]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (IJN) and the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Combined Fleet]] during [[World War II]]. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the [[Pacific War]] in 1941 and Japan's initial successes and defeats before his plane was shot down by U.S. fighter aircraft over New Guinea.

Yamamoto graduated from the [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy|Imperial Naval Academy]] in 1904 and served in the [[Russo-Japanese War]], where he lost two fingers at the [[Battle of Tsushima]]. He later studied at [[Harvard University]] in the United States and was appointed [[naval attaché]] to the Japanese embassy in Washington. His experiences convinced him that naval power depended on access to oil and industrial capacity, and that Japan thus had little hope to defeat the U.S. in a war. He was one of the first naval leaders to conclude that [[naval aviation]] and [[Aircraft carrier|aircraft carriers]] would play a decisive role in any future conflict. In 1936, Yamamoto was appointed navy vice minister, and opposed Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy in the [[Tripartite Pact]] of 1940. In 1939, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, and was tasked with creating a strategy for war with the U.S.; Yamamoto favored a surprise attack, which he carried out at the start of the war with an [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941.

In the early months of the war, the Japanese fleet scored a series of decisive naval victories. These gains were halted at the [[Battle of Midway]] in June 1942, in which four Japanese carriers were sunk. Yamamoto committed to the defense of the [[Solomon Islands]] in the [[Guadalcanal campaign]], but was unable to prevent their capture. In April 1943, Yamamoto was killed after American code breakers intercepted his flight plans, enabling the [[United States Army Air Forces]] to [[Operation Vengeance|shoot down his aircraft]].

==Family background==
Yamamoto was born as {{Nihongo|'''Isoroku Takano'''|高野 五十六|''Takano Isoroku''}} in [[Nagaoka, Niigata|Nagaoka]], [[Niigata Prefecture|Niigata]]. His father, Sadayoshi Takano (高野 貞吉), had been an intermediate-rank ''[[samurai]]'' of the [[Nagaoka Domain]]. "[[wikt:五十六|Isoroku]]" is a Japanese term meaning "56"; the name referred to his father's age at Isoroku's birth.<ref name="Stille">{{cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Yamamoto Isoroku |year=2012 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |language=en |isbn=978-1849087315 |chapter=The Early Years}}</ref>

In 1916, Isoroku was adopted into the [[Yamamoto Tatewaki|Yamamoto family]] (another family of former Nagaoka samurai) and took the Yamamoto name. It was a common practice for samurai families lacking sons to adopt suitable young men in this fashion to carry on the family name, the rank and the income that went with it. Isoroku married Reiko Mihashi in 1918; they had two sons and two daughters.<ref name="Davis">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Donald |title=Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor |year=2006 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=0312309074 |page=38}}</ref>

==Early career==
[[File:Isoroku Yamamoto and Teikichi Hori.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Yamamoto (left) with his lifelong friend [[Teikichi Hori]] as young officers of the Japanese Navy, 1915–1919]]
Yamamoto graduated from the [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy]] in 1904, ranking 11th in his class.<ref>Hickman, Kennedy, World War II: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto</ref> He then subsequently served on the [[armored cruiser]] {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Nisshin||2}} during the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. He was wounded at the [[Battle of Tsushima]], losing his index and middle fingers on his left hand, as the cruiser was hit repeatedly by the Russian battle line. He returned to the [[Naval War College (Japan)|Naval Staff College]] in 1914, emerging as a [[Naval ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II|lieutenant commander]] in 1916. In December 1919, he was promoted to commander.{{sfn|Coetzee|Eysturlid|2013|p=191}}

==1920s and 1930s==
[[File:Isoroku Yamamoto Signed Portrait 30 Jan 1928.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Captain Isoroku Yamamoto, 30 Jan 1928]]
Yamamoto was part of the Japanese Navy establishment, who were rivals of the more aggressive [[Imperial Japanese Army|Army]] establishment, especially the officers of the [[Kwantung Army]]. He promoted a policy of a strong fleet to project force through [[gunboat diplomacy]], rather than a fleet used primarily for the transport of invasion land forces, as some of his political opponents in the Army wanted.<ref>Making of Japanese Manchuria, Matsusaka</ref> This stance led him to oppose the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|invasion of China]]. He also opposed war against the United States, partly because of his studies at [[Harvard University]] (1919–1921)<ref>[https://harvardmagazine.com/2010/07/lessons-in-surprise Lessons in Surprise], by Primus V (Harvard Magazine, July–August 2010)<br>This article explains research done by Harvard alum Seymour Morris Jr who wrote of Yamamoto being taught the game of poker by his Harvard classmates and becoming very good at winning, then using his winnings to hitchhike across America and learn more broadly about the country.  He continued his poker playing and travels through the country while on assignment as an attaché at the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C.</ref> and his two postings as a [[naval attaché]] in Washington, D.C.,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sea Mystery: Deserted Submarine Unidentified |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215413522 |access-date=10 January 2020 |work=The Dalby Herald |date=16 December 1927 |location=Queensland |page=3 |quote=Captain Isoroku Yamamoto, naval attache at the Japanese Embassy}}</ref> where he learned to speak fluent [[English language|English]]. Yamamoto traveled extensively in the United States during his tour of duty there, where he studied American customs and business practices.

He was promoted to captain in 1923. On February 13, 1924, Captain Yamamoto was part of the Japanese delegation visiting the United States [[Naval War College]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usnwc.edu/About/History/Chronology-of-Courses-and-Significant-Events/1920s.aspx |title=1920–1929 |work=Chronology of Courses and Significant Events |publisher=U.S. Naval War College |access-date=May 29, 2010}}</ref> Later that year, he changed his specialty from [[Naval artillery|gunnery]] to [[naval aviation]]. His first command was the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Isuzu||2}} in 1928, followed by the [[aircraft carrier]] {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}}.

[[File:H78628 Isoroku Yamamoto.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto as a [[naval attaché]] to the United States, with the Secretary of the Navy [[Curtis D. Wilbur]], Captain [[Kiyoshi Hasegawa (admiral)|Kiyoshi Hasegawa]], and Admiral [[Edward Walter Eberle]], 1926]]

He participated in the [[London Naval Conference 1930]] as a rear admiral and the [[London Naval Conference 1935]] as a vice admiral, as the growing military influence on the government at the time deemed that a career military specialist needed to accompany the diplomats to the arms limitations talks. Yamamoto was a strong proponent of naval aviation and served as head of the Aeronautics Department, before accepting a post as commander of the [[First Carrier Division]]. Yamamoto opposed the [[Japanese invasion of northeast China]] in 1931, the subsequent [[Second Sino-Japanese War|full-scale land war with China]] in 1937, and the [[Tripartite Pact]] with [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] in 1940. As Deputy Navy Minister, he apologized to United States Ambassador [[Joseph C. Grew]] for the [[USS Panay incident|bombing of the gunboat USS ''Panay'']] in December 1937. These issues made him a target of assassination threats by pro-war militarists.

{{multiple image
 | total_width = 300
 | image1 = Yamamoto and Yonai.jpg
 | alt1 = Mitsumasa Yonai and Yamamoto
 | caption1 = Mitsumasa Yonai and Yamamoto as Minister and Deputy Minister of the Navy, 1930s
 | image2 = Isoroku Yamamoto as Vice-Minister of the Navy 1939.png
 | alt2 = Isoroku Yamamoto, August 1939
 | caption2 = Isoroku Yamamoto as Vice-Minister of the Navy, August 1939
}}

Throughout 1938, many young army and naval officers began to speak publicly against Yamamoto and certain other Japanese admirals, such as [[Mitsumasa Yonai]] and [[Shigeyoshi Inoue]], for their strong opposition to a tripartite pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which the admirals saw as inimical to "Japan's natural interests".<ref name="Hoyt-1990">{{cite book|last1=Hoyt|first1=Edwin P|title=Yamamoto: The Man Who Planned Pearl Harbor|date=1990|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|isbn=978-1-58574-428-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YcrAQAAMAAJ|access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>{{RP|101}} Yamamoto received a steady stream of hate mail and death threats from Japanese nationalists. His reaction to the prospect of death by assassination was passive and accepting. The admiral wrote:
{{blockquote|
To die for Emperor and Nation is the highest hope of a military man. After a brave hard fight the blossoms are scattered on the fighting field. But if a person wants to take a life instead, still the fighting man will go to eternity for Emperor and country. One man's life or death is a matter of no importance. All that matters is the Empire. As [[Confucius]] said, "They may crush cinnabar, yet they do not take away its color; one may burn a fragrant herb, yet it will not destroy the scent." They may destroy my body, yet they will not take away my will.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|101–02}}
}}

The Japanese Army, annoyed at Yamamoto's unflinching opposition to a Rome-Berlin-Tokyo treaty, dispatched military police to "guard" him, a ruse by the Army to keep an eye on him.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|102–03}} He was later reassigned from the [[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|naval ministry]] to sea as the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Japanese Combined Fleet|Combined Fleet]] on August 30, 1939. This was done as one of the last acts of acting Navy Minister [[Mitsumasa Yonai]], under Baron [[Hiranuma Kiichirō]]'s short-lived administration. It was done partly to make it harder for assassins to target Yamamoto. Yonai was certain that if Yamamoto remained ashore, he would be killed before the year [1939] ended.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|103}}

==1940–1941==
[[File:Admiral Yamamoto and Robert Craigie.jpg|thumb|British Ambassador [[Robert Craigie (diplomat)|Robert Craigie]] and Yamamoto at a party hosted by Yamamoto, 1939]]
[[Image:Isoroku Yamamoto 1940 Nagato.jpg|thumb|upright|Yamamoto on board the battleship ''[[Japanese battleship Nagato|Nagato]]'' in 1940]]

Yamamoto was promoted to admiral on November 15, 1940. That was in spite of the fact that when [[Hideki Tojo]] was appointed prime minister on October 18, 1941, many political observers thought that Yamamoto's career was essentially over.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|114}} Tojo had been Yamamoto's opponent from the time when the latter served as Japan's deputy naval minister and Tojo was the prime mover behind Japan's takeover of [[Manchuria]].{{according to whom|date=October 2019}} 

It was believed that Yamamoto would be appointed to command the [[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal|Yokosuka Naval Base]], "a nice safe demotion with a big house and no power at all".<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|114}} However, after a brief stint in the post, a new Japanese cabinet was announced, and Yamamoto found himself returned to his position of power despite his open conflict with Tojo and other members of the Army's oligarchy, who favored war with the European powers and the United States.

Two of the main reasons for Yamamoto's political survival were his immense popularity within the fleet, where he commanded the respect of his men and officers, and his close relations with the imperial family.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|115}} He also had the acceptance of Japan's naval hierarchy:
{{blockquote|
There was no officer more competent to lead the Combined Fleet to victory than Admiral Yamamoto. His daring plan for the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack]] had passed through the crucible of the Japanese naval establishment, and after many expressed misgivings, his fellow admirals had realized that Yamamoto spoke no more than the truth when he said that Japan's hope for victory in this [upcoming] war was limited by time and oil. Every sensible officer of the navy was well aware of the perennial oil problems. Also, it had to be recognized that if the enemy could seriously disturb Japanese merchant shipping, then the fleet would be endangered even more.<ref name="Hoyt-1990"/>{{RP|115–116}}
}}

Consequently, Yamamoto stayed in his post. With Tojo now in charge of Japan's highest political office, it became clear the Army would lead the Navy into a war about which Yamamoto had serious reservations. He wrote to an ultranationalist:
{{blockquote|
Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take [[Guam]] and the [[Philippines]], nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] and dictate the terms of peace in the [[White House]]. I wonder if our politicians [who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war] have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.<ref name="PrangeAt">Prange, ''At Dawn We Slept'', p. 11</ref>
}}

This quote was spread by the militarists, minus the last sentence, so it was interpreted in America as a boast that Japan would conquer the entire continental United States.<ref name="PrangeAt" /> The omitted sentence showed Yamamoto's counsel of caution about a war that could cost Japan dearly. Nevertheless, Yamamoto accepted the reality of impending war and planned for a quick victory by destroying the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] at [[Pearl Harbor]] in a [[preventive war|preventive strike]], while simultaneously thrusting into the oil- and rubber-rich areas of Southeast Asia, especially the [[Dutch East Indies]], Borneo, and Malaya. In naval matters, Yamamoto opposed the building of the  [[battleship]]s {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}} as an unwise investment of resources.

Yamamoto was responsible for a number of innovations in [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service|Japanese naval aviation]]. Although remembered for his association with aircraft carriers, Yamamoto did more to influence the development of land-based naval aviation, particularly the [[Mitsubishi G3M]] and [[Mitsubishi G4M|G4M]] [[medium bomber]]s. His demand for great range and the ability to carry a [[torpedo]] was intended to conform to Japanese conceptions of bleeding the American fleet as it advanced across the Pacific. The planes did achieve considerable range, but long-range fighter escorts were not available. The planes were lightly constructed and, when fully fueled, were vulnerable to enemy fire. That earned the G4M the sardonic nickname the "flying cigarette lighter". Yamamoto eventually died in one of those aircraft.

The range of the G3M and G4M contributed to a demand for great range in a fighter aircraft. That partly drove the requirements for the [[A6M Zero]], which was as noteworthy for its range as for its maneuverability. Again, both attributes were achieved only with light construction and flammability, that later contributed to the A6M's high casualty rates as the war progressed.

As Japan moved toward a wider war during 1940, Yamamoto began to consider strategic as well as tactical innovation, again with mixed results. Prompted by talented young officers such as [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Minoru Genda]], Yamamoto approved the reorganization of Japanese carrier forces into the [[First Air Fleet]], a consolidated striking force that gathered Japan's six largest carriers into one unit. That innovation provided great striking capacity, but also concentrated the vulnerable carriers into a compact target. Yamamoto also oversaw the organization of a similar large land-based organization in the 11th Air Fleet, which later used the G3M and G4M to neutralize American air forces in the [[Philippines]] and sink the [[Royal Navy|British]] [[Force Z]]
.
[[File:Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi,December 24, 1941.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto (first row, 8th right) and his staff on the deck of ''Akagi'', December 25, 1941]]

In January 1941, Yamamoto went even further and proposed a radical revision of Japanese naval strategy. For two decades, in keeping with the [[doctrine]] of Captain [[Alfred T. Mahan]],<ref>Mahan, ''The Influence of Seapower on History</ref> the [[Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff|Naval General Staff]] had planned in terms of Japanese light surface forces, [[submarine]]s, and land-based air units whittling down the American fleet as it advanced across the Pacific until the Japanese Navy engaged it in a climactic ''[[Kantai Kessen]]'' ("decisive battle") in the northern [[Philippine Sea]] (between the [[Ryukyu Islands]] and the [[Marianas Islands|Marianas]]), with battleships fighting in traditional [[line of battle|battle lines]].

Correctly pointing out this plan had never worked even in Japanese war games, and painfully aware of American strategic advantages in military production capacity, Yamamoto proposed instead to seek parity with the Americans by first reducing their forces with a preventive strike, then following up with a "decisive battle" fought offensively, rather than defensively. Yamamoto hoped, but probably did not believe,{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} that if the Americans could be dealt terrific blows early in the war, they might be willing to negotiate an end to the conflict. The Naval General Staff proved reluctant to go along, and Yamamoto was eventually driven to capitalize on his popularity in the fleet by threatening to resign to get his way. Admiral [[Osami Nagano]] and the Naval General Staff eventually caved in to this pressure, but only insofar as approving the attack on Pearl Harbor.
[[File:Japanese attack plan at Pearl Harbor, Japan, 1941.jpg|thumb|Japanese attack plan at Pearl Harbor, Japan, 1941]]
In January 1941 Yamamoto began developing a plan to attack the American base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which the Japanese continued to refine during the next months.<ref>[https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/japanese-announcement-attack-pearl-harbor-1941 ''Japanese announcement of the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941.''], "History Resources", The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York (USA), retrieved 18. Dezember 2023.</ref> 
On November 5, 1941, Yamamoto in his "Top Secret Operation Order no. 1" issued to the Combined Fleet, the Empire of Japan must drive out Britain and America from Greater East Asia and hasten the settlement of China, whereas, in the event that Britain and America were driven out from the Philippines and Dutch East Indies, an independent, self-supporting economic entity will be firmly established—mirroring the principle of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in another personification.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morison|first=Samuel Eliot|title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 3: The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931–April 1942|publisher=Naval Institute Press|date=2010|pages=80–81}}</ref>

Two days later, he set the date for the intended surprise attack in Pearl Harbor and that would be on December 7 for one simple reason: it was a Sunday, the day that American military personnel would be least alert to an attack.{{sfn|Morison|2010|p=86}}

The First Air Fleet commenced preparations for the Pearl Harbor raid, solving a number of technical problems along the way, including how to launch torpedoes in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor and how to craft armor-piercing bombs by machining down battleship gun projectiles.

===Attack on Pearl Harbor===
{{Main|Events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor|Attack on Pearl Harbor}}

The United States and Japan were officially at peace when the First Air Fleet of six carriers attacked on December 7, 1941.
Three hundred and fifty three<ref name="parillo288">{{Harvnb|Parillo|2006|p=288}}</ref> aircraft were launched against Pearl Harbor and other locations within Honolulu in two waves. The attack was a success according to the parameters of the mission, which sought to sink at least four American battleships and prevent the United States from interfering in Japan's southward advance for at least six months. Three American aircraft carriers were also considered a choice target, but these were at sea at the time.

In the end, four American battleships were sunk, four were damaged, and eleven other [[cruiser]]s, [[destroyer]]s, and auxiliaries were sunk or seriously damaged, 188 American aircraft were destroyed and 159 others damaged, and 2,403 people were killed and 1,178 others wounded. The Japanese lost 64 servicemen and only 29 aircraft,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pearlharbor.org/losses-pearl-harbor/|title=December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Casualties|date=April 27, 2017|publisher=PearlHarbor.org|access-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref> with 74 others damaged by anti-aircraft fire from the ground. The damaged aircraft were disproportionately [[Dive bomber|dive]] and [[torpedo bomber]]s, seriously reducing the ability to exploit the first two waves' success, so the commander of the First Air Fleet, Naval Vice Admiral [[Chuichi Nagumo]], withdrew. Yamamoto later lamented Nagumo's failure to seize the initiative to seek out and destroy the American carriers or further bombard various strategically important facilities on [[Oahu]], such as Pearl Harbor's oil tanks.

Nagumo had absolutely no idea where the American carriers were, and remaining on station while his forces looked for them ran the risk of his own forces being found first and attacked while his aircraft were absent searching. In any case, insufficient daylight remained after recovering the aircraft from the first two waves for the carriers to launch and recover a third before dark, and Nagumo's escorting destroyers lacked the fuel capacity to loiter long. Much has been made of Yamamoto's hindsight, but in keeping with Japanese military tradition to not criticize the commander on the spot,<ref>Peattie & Evans, ''Kaigun''; Coox, ''Kobun''.</ref> he did not punish Nagumo for his withdrawal.
On the strategic, moral, and political level, the attack was a disaster for Japan, rousing Americans' thirst for revenge due to what is famously called a "sneak attack". The shock of the attack, coming in an unexpected place with devastating results and without a [[declaration of war]], galvanized the American public's determination to avenge the attack. When asked by Prime Minister [[Fumimaro Konoe]] in mid-1941 about the outcome of a possible war with the United States, Yamamoto made a well-known and prophetic statement: If ordered to fight, he said, "I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years."<ref>Harry A. Gailey, ''The War in the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay'', Presidio Press: 1995. p. 68</ref> His prediction would be validated, because Japan easily conquered territories and islands in Asia and the Pacific during the first six months of the war, before suffering a major defeat at the [[Battle of Midway]] on June 4–7, 1942, which ultimately tilted the balance of power in the Pacific toward the United States.

==December 1941 – May 1942==
[[File:Yamamoto-Isoroku.jpg|thumb|upright|Yamamoto as Admiral, 1942]]
[[File:Isoroku Yamamoto on deck photo 1942.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto on deck, 1942]]
[[File:Admiral Yamamoto on Guadalcanal Saluting a Japanese Plane.jpg|thumb|upright|Admiral Yamamoto on the Japanese airbase of Rabaul on New Britain]]

With the American fleet largely neutralized at Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto's Combined Fleet turned to the task of executing the larger Japanese war plan devised by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and Navy General Staff. The [[First Air Fleet]] made a circuit of the Pacific, striking American, Australian, Dutch, and British installations from [[Wake Island]] to Australia to [[Ceylon]] in the Indian Ocean. The 11th Air Fleet caught the United States [[Fifth Air Force]] on the ground in the Philippines hours after Pearl Harbor, and then sank the British Force Z's battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} and [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}} at sea.

Under Yamamoto's able subordinates, Vice Admirals [[Jisaburō Ozawa]], [[Nobutake Kondō]], and [[Ibō Takahashi]], the Japanese swept the inadequate remaining American, British, Dutch and Australian naval assets from the Dutch East Indies in a series of amphibious landings and surface naval battles culminating in the [[Battle of the Java Sea]] on February 27, 1942. Along with the occupation of the Dutch East Indies came the [[Battle of Singapore|fall of Singapore]] on February 15, and the eventual reduction of the remaining American-Filipino defensive positions in the [[Philippines]] on the [[Battle of Bataan|Bataan peninsula]] on April 9 and [[Battle of Corregidor|Corregidor Island]] on May 6. The Japanese had secured their oil- and rubber-rich "southern resources area".

By late March, having achieved their initial aims with surprising speed and little loss, albeit against enemies ill-prepared to resist them, the Japanese paused to consider their next moves. Yamamoto and a few Japanese military leaders and officials waited, hoping that the United States or [[UK|Great Britain]] would negotiate an armistice or a peace treaty to end the war. But when the British, as well as the Americans, expressed no interest in negotiating, Japanese thoughts turned to securing their newly seized territory and acquiring more with an eye to driving one or more of their enemies out of the war.

Competing plans were developed at this stage, including thrusts to the west against [[British India]], south [[Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II|against Australia]], and east against the United States. Yamamoto was involved in this debate, supporting different plans at different times with varying degrees of enthusiasm and for varying purposes, including [[Vote trading|horse-trading]] for support of his own objectives.

Plans included ideas as ambitious as invading India or Australia, or seizing Hawaii. These grandiose ventures were inevitably set aside, as the Army could not spare enough troops from China for the first two, which would require a minimum of 250,000 men, nor shipping to support the latter two (transports were allocated separately to the Navy and Army, and jealously guarded).<ref name="parillo">Parillo, ''Japanese Merchant Marine in World War II''</ref> Instead, the Imperial General Staff supported an army thrust into [[Myanmar|Burma]] in hopes of linking up with [[Azad Hind|Indian nationalists]] revolting against British rule, and attacks in [[New Guinea]] and the [[Solomon Islands]] designed to imperil Australia's lines of communication with the United States. Yamamoto argued for a decisive offensive strike in the east to finish off the American fleet, but the more conservative Naval General Staff officers were unwilling to risk it.

On April 18, in the midst of these debates, the [[Doolittle Raid]] struck Tokyo and surrounding areas, demonstrating the threat posed by American aircraft carriers, and giving Yamamoto an event he could exploit to get his way, and further debate over military strategy came to a quick end. The Naval General Staff agreed to Yamamoto's Midway Island (MI) Operation, subsequent to the first phase of the operations against Australia's link with America, and concurrent with its plan to invade the [[Aleutian Islands]].

Yamamoto rushed planning for the Midway and Aleutians missions, while dispatching a force under Vice Admiral [[Takeo Takagi]], including the [[Fifth Carrier Division]] (the large new carriers {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shōkaku||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuikaku||2}}), to support the effort to seize the islands of [[Tulagi]] and [[Guadalcanal (Pacific Ocean island)|Guadalcanal]] for seaplane and airplane bases, and the town of [[Port Moresby]] on Papua New Guinea's south coast facing Australia.

The [[Operation Mo|Port Moresby (MO) Operation]] proved an unwelcome setback. Although Tulagi and Guadalcanal were taken, the Port Moresby invasion fleet was compelled to turn back when Takagi clashed with an American carrier task force in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] in early May. Although the Japanese sank the carrier {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|6}} and damaged the {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6}}, the Americans damaged the carrier ''Shōkaku'' so badly that she required dockyard repairs, and the Japanese lost the light carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shoho||2}}. Just as importantly, Japanese operational mishaps and American fighters and anti-aircraft fire devastated the dive bomber and torpedo plane formations of both ''Shōkaku''{{'}}s and ''Zuikaku''{{'}}s air groups. These losses sidelined ''Zuikaku'' while she awaited replacement aircraft and aircrews, and saw to tactical integration and training. These two ships would be sorely missed a month later at Midway.<ref>Dull (1978), Evans & Peattie (1997), Lundstrom (1984), Parillo</ref>

==Battle of Midway, June 1942==
{{Main|Battle of Midway}}

Yamamoto's plan for Midway Island was an extension of his efforts to knock the American Pacific Fleet out of action long enough for Japan to fortify its defensive perimeter in the Pacific island chains. Yamamoto felt it necessary to seek an early, decisive offensive battle.

This plan was long believed to have been to draw American attention—and possibly carrier forces—north from Pearl Harbor by sending his Fifth Fleet (one carrier, one light carrier, four battleships, eight cruisers, 25 destroyers, and four transports) against the Aleutians, [[Battle of Dutch Harbor|raiding Dutch Harbor]] on [[Unalaska Island]] and invading the more distant islands of [[Kiska]] and [[Attu Island|Attu]].<ref name="Lightbody">{{cite book|last1=Lightbody|first1=Bradley|title=The Second World War|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=0-415-22404-7|page=136|edition= 1st|language=en|chapter=Part 5 – Containment}}</ref><ref name="Atlantic_Aleutians">{{cite news|last1=Kennedy|first1=David M.|title=Victory at Sea|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/03/victory-at-sea/306272/|access-date=29 January 2018|work=The Atlantic|issue=March 1999|publisher=The Atlantic|date=March 1999|language=en}}</ref>

While Fifth Fleet attacked the Aleutians, First Mobile Force (four carriers, two battleships, three cruisers, and 12 destroyers) would attack Midway and destroy its air force. Once this was neutralized, Second Fleet (one light carrier, two battleships, 10 cruisers, 21 destroyers, and 11 transports) would land 5,000 troops to seize the [[atoll]] from the [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]].

The seizure of Midway was expected to draw the American carriers west into a trap where the First Mobile Force would engage and destroy them. Afterwards, First Fleet (one light carrier, three battleships, one light cruiser and nine destroyers), in conjunction with elements of Second Fleet, would mop up remaining US surface forces and complete the destruction of the American Pacific Fleet.

To guard against failure, Yamamoto initiated two security measures. The first was an aerial reconnaissance mission ([[Operation K]]) over Pearl Harbor to ascertain if the American carriers were there. The second was a picket line of submarines to detect the movement of enemy carriers toward Midway in time for First Mobile Force, First Fleet, and Second Fleet to combine against it. In the event, the first measure was aborted and the second delayed until after the American carriers had already sortied.

The plan was a compromise and hastily prepared, apparently so it could be launched in time for the anniversary of the [[Battle of Tsushima]],<ref>Bicheno, Hugh. ''Midway''.</ref> but appeared well thought out, well organized, and finely timed, from a Japanese viewpoint. Against four fleet carriers, two light carriers, seven battleships, 14 cruisers and 42 destroyers likely to be in the area of the main battle, the United States could field only three carriers, eight cruisers, and 15 destroyers. The disparity appeared crushing. Only in numbers of carrier decks, available aircraft, and submarines was there near parity between the two sides. Despite various mishaps developed in the execution, it appeared that—barring something unforeseen—Yamamoto held all the cards.

Unknown to Yamamoto, the Americans had learned of Japanese plans thanks to the [[Magic (cryptography)|code breaking of Japanese naval code D]] (known to the US as [[JN-25]]).<ref name="Atlantic_Aleutians" /> As a result, Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]], the Pacific Fleet commander, was able to place his outnumbered forces in a position to conduct their own ambush. By Nimitz's calculation, his three available carrier decks, plus Midway, gave him rough parity with Nagumo's First Mobile Force.

Following a nuisance raid by Japanese [[flying boat]]s in May,<ref>Holmes, Wilfred J. "Jasper". ''Double-Edged Secrets'' and ''Undersea Victory''</ref> Nimitz dispatched a [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] to guard the intended refueling point for Operation K near [[French Frigate Shoals]], causing the reconnaissance mission to be aborted and leaving Yamamoto ignorant of whether the Pacific Fleet carriers were still at Pearl Harbor. It remains unclear why Yamamoto permitted the earlier attack, and why his submarines did not sortie sooner, as reconnaissance was essential to success at Midway. Nimitz also dispatched his carriers toward Midway early, and they passed the Japanese submarines ''en route'' to their picket line positions. Nimitz's carriers positioned themselves to ambush the [[1st Air Fleet|''Kidō Butai'']] (striking force) when it struck Midway. A token cruiser and destroyer force was sent toward the Aleutians, but otherwise Nimitz ignored them. On June 4, 1942, days before Yamamoto expected them to interfere in the Midway operation, American carrier-based aircraft destroyed the four carriers of the ''Kidō  Butai'', catching the Japanese carriers at especially vulnerable times.

With his air power destroyed and his forces not yet concentrated for a fleet battle, Yamamoto maneuvered his remaining forces, still strong on paper, to trap the American forces. He was unable to do so because his initial dispositions had placed his surface combatants too far from Midway,<ref name="Willmott, H.P. 1983">Willmott, H.P. ''Barrier and the Javelin''. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Pres, 1983.</ref> and because Admiral [[Raymond Spruance]] prudently withdrew to the east to further defend Midway Island, believing (based on a mistaken [[USS Tambor (SS-198)#Second war patrol|submarine report]]) the Japanese still intended to invade.<ref name="blair">Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory''. (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975).</ref> Not knowing several battleships, including the powerful {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}, were in the Japanese [[order of battle]], he did not comprehend the severe risk of a night surface battle, in which his carriers and cruisers would be at a disadvantage.<ref name="blair"/> However, his move to the east avoided that possibility. Correctly perceiving he had lost and could not bring surface forces into action, Yamamoto withdrew. The defeat marked the high tide of Japanese expansion.

Yamamoto's plan has been the subject of much criticism. Some historians state it violated the principle of concentration of force and was overly complex. Others point to similarly complex Allied operations, such as [[Operation MB8]], that were successful, and note the extent to which the American intelligence ''coup'' derailed the operation before it began. Had Yamamoto's dispositions not denied Nagumo adequate pre-attack reconnaissance assets, both the American cryptanalytic success and the unexpected appearance of the American carriers could have been irrelevant.<ref name="Willmott, H.P. 1983"/>

==Actions after Midway==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2013}}<!-- Most of this material is in Paul S. Dull's battle history of the Imperial Japanese Navy -->
The Battle of Midway checked Japanese momentum, but the Japanese Navy was still a powerful force, capable of regaining the initiative. It planned to resume the thrust with [[Operation FS]], aimed at eventually taking [[Fiji]] and [[Samoa]] to cut the American lifeline to Australia.

Yamamoto remained as commander-in-chief, retained at least partly to avoid diminishing the morale of the Combined Fleet. However, he had [[lost face]] as a result of the Midway defeat, and the Naval General Staff were disinclined to indulge in further gambles. This reduced Yamamoto to pursuing the classic defensive "decisive battle strategy" he had attempted to avoid.

Yamamoto committed Combined Fleet units to a series of small attrition actions across the south and central Pacific that stung the Americans, but in return suffered losses he could ill afford. Three major efforts to beat the [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Americans moving on Guadalcanal]] precipitated a pair of carrier battles that Yamamoto commanded personally: the Battles of the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons|Eastern Solomons]] and [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands|Santa Cruz Islands]] in September and October, respectively, and finally a [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal|pair of wild surface engagements]] in November, all timed to coincide with Japanese Army pushes. The effort was wasted when the Army could not hold up its end of the operation. Yamamoto's naval forces won a few victories and inflicted considerable losses and damage to the American fleet in several battles around Guadalcanal which included the Battles of [[Battle of Savo Island|Savo Island]], [[Battle of Cape Esperance|Cape Esperance]], and [[Battle of Tassafaronga|Tassafaronga]], but he could never draw the United States into a decisive fleet action. As a result, Japanese naval strength declined.

==Death==
{{Main|Operation Vengeance}}
[[File:Yamamoto last image alive.jpg|thumb|Admiral Yamamoto, a few hours before his death, saluting Japanese naval pilots at [[Rabaul]], April 18, 1943]]
[[File:Hideki Tojo bows in front of a portrait of late Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.jpg|thumb|right|[[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Hideki Tojo]] bowing to a portrait of Yamamoto, following the return of his ashes to Japan, May 1943]]
[[File:Japan-State-Funeral-for-Marshal-Admiral-Isoroku-Yamamoto (cropped).png|thumb|right|Yamamoto's state funeral, 5 June 1943]]
[[File:Yamamoto's ashes on Musashi.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto's ashes are carried from the [[Japanese battleship Musashi|battleship ''Musashi'']] at Kisarazu, Japan on May 23, 1943.]]
To boost morale following the defeat at Guadalcanal, Yamamoto decided to make an inspection tour throughout the [[Pacific Ocean Theater of World War II|South Pacific]]. It was during this tour that U.S. officials commenced an operation to kill him. On April 14, 1943, the United States naval intelligence effort, codenamed "[[Magic (cryptography)|Magic]]", intercepted and decrypted a message containing specifics of Yamamoto's tour, including arrival and departure times and locations, as well as the number and types of aircraft that would transport and accompany him on the journey. Yamamoto, the itinerary revealed, would be flying from [[Rabaul]] to [[Balalae Airport|Balalae Airfield]], on an island near [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] in the [[Solomon Islands]], on the morning of April 18, 1943.

President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] may have authorized [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Frank Knox]] to "get Yamamoto", but no official record of such an order exists,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=C|first=Arvanitakis, Adonis|date=2015-03-24|title=Killing a Peacock: A Case Study of the Targeted Killing of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA623450|language=en|journal=|access-date=May 10, 2019|archive-date=June 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603013025/http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA623450|url-status=live}}</ref> and sources disagree whether he did so.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|title=U.S. Navy codebreakers, linguists, and intelligence officers against Japan, 1910–1941 : a biographical dictionary|last=Maffeo|first=Steven|isbn=978-1442255647|location=Lanham, MD|pages=493|oclc=914224225|year=2015}}</ref>  Knox essentially let Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz]] make the decision.<ref name="auto"/> Nimitz first consulted Admiral [[William Halsey Jr.]], Commander, South Pacific, and then authorized the mission on April 17 to intercept and shoot down Yamamoto's flight ''en route''. A squadron of [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning]] aircraft were assigned the task as only they possessed sufficient range. Select pilots from three units were informed that they were intercepting an "important high officer", with no specific name given.

On the morning of April 18, despite urging by local commanders to cancel the trip for fear of ambush, Yamamoto's two [[Mitsubishi G4M]] bombers, used as fast transport aircraft without bombs, left Rabaul as scheduled for the {{Convert|315|mi|km|abbr=on}} trip. Sixteen P-38s intercepted the flight over Bougainville, and a dogfight ensued between them and the six escorting [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]]es. [[First Lieutenant]] [[Rex T. Barber]] engaged the first of the two Japanese transports, which turned out to be T1-323, the one Yamamoto was travelling in. He fired on the aircraft until it began to spew smoke from its left engine. Barber turned away to attack the other transport as Yamamoto's aircraft crashed into the jungle.

Yamamoto's body, along with the crash site, was found the next day in the jungle of the [[Bougainville Island|island of Bougainville]] by a Japanese search-and-rescue party, led by army engineer Lieutenant Tsuyoshi Hamasuna. According to Hamasuna, Yamamoto had been thrown clear of the plane's wreckage, his white-gloved hand grasping the hilt of his [[katana]], still upright in his seat under a tree. Hamasuna said Yamamoto was instantly recognizable, head dipped down as if deep in thought. A [[post-mortem]] disclosed that Yamamoto had received two [[.50 BMG|.50-caliber]] bullet wounds, one to the back of his left shoulder and another to the left side of his lower jaw that exited above his right eye. The Japanese navy doctor examining the body determined that the head wound had killed Yamamoto. The more violent details of Yamamoto's death were hidden from the Japanese public. The medical report was changed "on orders from above", according to biographer Hiroyuki Agawa.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj3t74K8hq4C&pg=PA343 |page=343 |last=Gamble |first=Bruce |title=Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942&nbsp;– April 1943 |publisher=Zenith Imprint |year=2010 |isbn=978-0760323502}}</ref><ref>Agawa 2000, p. 364</ref>

[[File:Grave of Isoroku Yamamoto.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto's grave at [[Tama Cemetery]]]]
Yamamoto's death was a major blow to Japanese military morale.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pricer |first=Douglas |title=Cornerstones of Courage: The Story of Ssgt. William J. Bordelon, USMC |year=2014 |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=978-1499012514 |page=73}}</ref><ref name="Stille2012">{{cite book |author=Mark Stille |title=Yamamoto Isoroku |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weO6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1849087322 |page=59}}</ref> His staff cremated his remains at [[Buin, Papua New Guinea]], and his ashes were returned to Tokyo aboard the battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}}, his last flagship. He was given a full [[state funeral]] on June 5, 1943,<ref>Glines, 1991, p. 110</ref> where he received, posthumously, the title of [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal Admiral]] and was awarded the [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]] (1st Class). He was also awarded [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords]]. Some of his ashes were buried in the public [[Tama Cemetery]], Tokyo (多摩霊園) and the remainder at his ancestral burial grounds at the temple of Chuko-ji in [[Nagaoka, Niigata|Nagaoka City]]. He was succeeded as commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet by Admiral [[Mineichi Koga]].

==Personal life==
Yamamoto practiced [[Japanese calligraphy|calligraphy]]. He and his wife, Reiko, had four children: two sons and two daughters. Yamamoto was an avid gambler, enjoying ''[[Go (game)|Go]]'',<ref>'The Broken Seal' by [[Ladislas Farago]]</ref><!--publisher, place, date & page?-->{{page needed|date=September 2015}} ''[[shogi]]'', [[billiards]], [[Contract bridge|bridge]], [[mah jong|mahjong]], [[poker]], and other games that tested his wits and sharpened his mind. He frequently made jokes about moving to [[Monaco]] and starting his own [[casino]].

He enjoyed the company of ''[[geisha]]'', and his wife Reiko revealed to the Japanese public in 1954 that Yamamoto was closer to his favorite ''geisha'' Kawai Chiyoko than to her, which stirred some controversy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=30637945979864 |title=H-Net Review: Charles C. Kolb on The Pearl Harbor Papers: Inside the Japanese Plans |access-date=October 21, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627012638/http://h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=30637945979864 |archive-date=June 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His funeral procession passed by Kawai's quarters on the way to the cemetery.<ref>Davis, ''Lightning Strike''.</ref> Yamamoto was close friends with [[Teikichi Hori]], a Navy admiral and Yamamoto's classmate from the [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy]] who was purged from the Navy for supporting the [[Washington Naval Treaty]]. Before and during the war Yamamoto frequently corresponded with Hori, these personal letters would become the subject of the [[NHK]] documentary ''The Truth of Yamamoto''.<ref>{{Citation |last=NHK |title=山本五十六の真実 「遺された手紙」 - BS1スペシャル |url=https://www.nhk.jp/p/bs1sp/ts/YMKV7LM62W/episode/te/QZJV15NXMM/ |language=ja |access-date=2022-07-06}}</ref>

The claim that Yamamoto was a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]<ref>{{Citation|last=Sensus Fidelium|title=The Other Americans: Loyalists, Confederates, & Other Dissenters ~ Charles Coulombe|date=2017-01-04|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadttLfJ4mk| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/hadttLfJ4mk| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|access-date=2019-05-21}}{{cbignore}}</ref> is likely due to confusion with retired Admiral Shinjiro Stefano Yamamoto, who was a decade older than Isoroku, and died in 1942.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Catholic Admiral from Japan |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-catholic-admiral-from-japan |website=www.catholic.com |publisher=Catholic Answers |access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref>

==Decorations==
* Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]] (posthumous appointment, 18 April 1943)
* Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Rising Sun]] (29 April 1940; Fourth Class: 1 November 1920)
** (with the [[Order of the Paulownia Flowers]])
* Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Sacred Treasure]] (23 March 1939; Second Class: 31 October 1931; Fifth Class: 27 November 1911)
* [[Order of the Golden Kite]] (1st class: 18 April 1943 (posthumous); Second Class: 4 April 1942)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the German Eagle]] ([[Nazi Germany]], 9 February 1940)
* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords]] ([[Nazi Germany]], 27 May 1943 (posthumous))

===Dates of rank===
* Midshipman{{snd}}November 14, 1904
* Ensign{{snd}}August 31, 1905
* Sublieutenant{{snd}}September 28, 1907
* Lieutenant{{snd}}October 11, 1909
* Lieutenant Commander{{snd}}December 13, 1915
* Commander{{snd}}December 1, 1919
* Captain{{snd}}December 1, 1923
* Rear Admiral{{snd}}November 30, 1929
* Vice Admiral{{snd}}November 15, 1934
* Admiral{{snd}}November 15, 1940
* [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal-Admiral]]{{snd}}April 18, 1943 (posthumous)

==In film and fiction==
Yamamoto was portrayed by [[Denjirō Ōkōchi]] in [[Toho]]'s 1953 film ''[[Eagle of the Pacific]]''.

The 1960 film ''[[The Gallant Hours]]'' depicts the battle of wits between Vice-Admiral [[William Halsey, Jr.]] and Yamamoto from the start of the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] in August 1942 to [[Operation Vengeance|Yamamoto's death]] in April 1943. The film, however, portrays Yamamoto's death as occurring in November 1942, the day after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and the P-38 aircraft that killed him as coming from Guadalcanal.

In 1960's ''[[Storm Over the Pacific]]'' from [[Toho Studios]], Yamamoto is portrayed by [[Susumu Fujita]]. 

In [[Daiei Studios]]'s 1969 film ''Aa, kaigun'' (later released in the United States as ''Gateway to Glory''), Yamamoto was portrayed by [[Shōgo Shimada (actor)|Shōgo Shimada]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202777/ Aa, kaigun (1970)]. IMDB.com.</ref><ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/563206/gateway-to-glory Gateway to Glory (1970)]. Turner Classic Movies.</ref>

Yamamoto is portrayed by Japanese actor [[So Yamamura|Sō Yamamura]] in the 1970 movie ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]''; he states after the attack on Pearl Harbor:
{{Blockquote
|text=I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.
|sign=[[Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote|attributed to Yamamoto]] in ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970), in reference to the attack on Pearl Harbor. There is no evidence that Yamamoto said this in reality.}}

Professional wrestler Harold Watanabe adopted the [[Heel (professional wrestling)|villainous]] Japanese gimmick of [[Tojo Yamamoto]] in reference to both Yamamoto and [[Hideki Tojo]].

Award-winning Japanese actor [[Toshiro Mifune]] (star of ''[[The Seven Samurai]]'') portrayed Yamamoto in three films:
* ''[[Admiral Yamamoto (film)|Admiral Yamamoto]]'' (1968),<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063822/ Admiral Yamamoto (1968, original title: ''Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku'')], imdb.com</ref>
* ''Gekido no showashi 'Gunbatsu' '' (1970, lit. "Turning Point of Showa History: The Militarists"),<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065767/ Gekido no showashi 'Gunbatsu' (1970)]. IMDB.com</ref> and
* ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976, where all of the Japanese scenes had English dialogue).

A fictionalized version of Yamamoto's death was portrayed in the ''[[Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)|Baa Baa Black Sheep]]'' episode "The Hawk Flies on Sunday", though only photos of Yamamoto were shown. In this episode, set much later in the war than in real life, the Black Sheep, a Marine Corsair squadron, joins an army squadron of P-51 Mustangs. The Marines intercepted fighter cover while the army shot down Yamamoto.

In [[Shūe Matsubayashi]]'s 1981 film ''[[:jp:連合艦隊 (映画)|Rengō kantai]]'' (lit. "Combined Fleet", later released in the United States as ''[[The Imperial Navy]]''), Yamamoto was portrayed by [[Keiju Kobayashi]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085620/ ''Rengō Kantai'' (1981)]. IMDB.com</ref>

In the 1993 [[OVA]] series ''[[Konpeki no Kantai]]'' (lit. ''Deep Blue Fleet''), right after his plane is shot down, Yamamoto suddenly wakes up as his younger self, Isoroku Takano, after the [[Battle of Tsushima]] in 1905. His memory from the original timeline intact, Yamamoto uses his knowledge of the future to help Japan become a stronger military power, eventually launching a ''coup d'état'' against [[Hideki Tōjō]]'s government. In the subsequent [[Pacific War]], Japan's technologically advanced navy decisively defeats the United States, and grants all of the former European and American colonies in Asia full independence. Yamamoto convinces Japan to join forces with the United States and Britain to defeat Nazi Germany. The series was criticized outside Japan as a whitewash of Imperial Japan's intentions towards its neighbors, and distancing itself from the wartime alliance with Nazi Germany.

In [[Neal Stephenson]]'s 1999 book ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', Yamamoto's final moments are depicted, with him realizing that [[Japanese naval codes|Japan's naval codes]] have been broken and that he must inform headquarters.<!--anybody who cares how it ends can read it-->

In the 2001 film ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]'', Yamamoto was portrayed by Japanese-born American actor [[Mako Iwamatsu]]. Like ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'', Yamamoto also says [[Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote|the sleeping giant quote]].

In the 2004 [[anime]] series ''[[Zipang (anime)|Zipang]]'', Yamamoto, voiced by [[:jp:外波山文明|Bunmei Tobayama]], works to develop the uneasy partnership with the crew of the [[DDG-182 Mirai|JMSDF ''Mirai'']], which has been transported back through time to 1942.

In the [[Axis of Time]] trilogy by author [[John Birmingham]], after a naval task force from the year 2021 is accidentally transported back through time to 1942, Yamamoto assumes a leadership role in the dramatic alteration of Japan's war strategy.

In ''[[The West Wing]]'' episode "[[We Killed Yamamoto]]", the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff uses the killing of Yamamoto to advocate for an assassination.

In [[Douglas Niles]]' 2007 book ''MacArthur's War: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan'' (written with [[Michael Dobson (author)|Michael Dobson]]), which focuses on General [[Douglas MacArthur]] and an alternate history of the [[Pacific War]] (following a considerably different outcome of the [[Battle of Midway]]), Yamamoto is portrayed sympathetically, with much of the action in the Japanese government seen through his eyes, though he could not change the major decisions of Japan in World War II.

In [[Toei Company|Toei]]'s 2011 war film ''[[Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku (2011 film)|Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku]]'' (Blu-Ray titles:- English "The Admiral"; German "Der Admiral"), Yamamoto was portrayed by [[Kōji Yakusho]]. The film portrays his career from Pearl Harbor to his death in Operation Vengeance.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1932695/ Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011)]. IMDB.com</ref>

In [[Robert Conroy]]'s 2011 book ''Rising Sun'', Yamamoto directs the IJN to launch a series of attacks on the [[American West Coast]], in the hope the United States can be convinced to sue for peace and securing Japan's place as a world power; but cannot escape his lingering fear the war will ultimately doom Japan.

In the 2019 motion picture ''[[Midway (2019 film)|Midway]]'', Yamamoto is portrayed by [[Etsushi Toyokawa]]. As with ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' and ''Pearl Harbor'', the [[Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote|sleeping giant quote]] is included once again.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Agawa, Hiroyuki; Bester, John (trans.). ''The Reluctant Admiral''. New York: Kodansha, 1979. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-2539-5}}. A definitive biography of Yamamoto in English. This book explains much of the political structure and events within Japan that led to the war.
*{{cite book |last1=Coetzee|first1=Daniel |last2=Eysturlid|first2=Lee W.| title = Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers [2 Volumes]: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers|year=2013| publisher = ABC-CLIO| isbn= 9780313070334}} <small>- Total pages: 994 </small>
* Davis, Donald A. ''Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-312-30906-0}}.
* Dull, Paul S. ''A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1978. {{ISBN|978-0-87021-097-6}}.
* Evans, David C. and Mark R. Peattie. ''Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887–1941''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-87021-192-8}}.
* Glines, Carroll V. ''Attack on Yamamoto'' (1st edition). New York: Crown, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0-517-57728-8}}. Glines documents both the mission to shoot down Yamamoto and the subsequent controversies with thorough research, including personal interviews with all surviving participants and researchers who examined the crash site.
* Lundstrom, John B. ''The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1984. {{ISBN|978-0-87021-189-8}}.
* Miller, Edward S. ''War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897–1945''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-87021-759-3}}.
* [[Mark Peattie|Peattie]], Mark R. ''Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-55750-432-6}}.
* Prados, John. ''Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-55750-431-9}}.
* Prange, Gordon. ''At Dawn We Slept''. New York: Penguin Books, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-14-006455-1}}.
* Ugaki, Matome; Chihaya, Masataka (trans.). ''Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941–45''. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-8229-5462-0}}. Provides a high-level view of the war from the Japanese side, from the diaries of Yamamoto's Chief of Staff, Admiral [[Matome Ugaki]]. Provides evidence of the intentions of the imperial military establishment to seize Hawaii and to operate against Britain's [[Royal Navy]] in the Indian Ocean. Translated by Masataka Chihaya, this edition contains extensive clarifying notes from the U.S. editors derived from U.S. military histories.
* {{Cite book|last=Parillo|first=Mark|chapter=The United States in the Pacific|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0gt_RjeCrgC&pg=PA287|editor1-last=Higham|editor1-first=Robin|editor2-last=Harris|editor2-first=Stephen|title=Why Air Forces Fail: the Anatomy of Defeat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0gt_RjeCrgC|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8131-2374-5}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|last2=Godziszewski|first2=Ed|title=Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|year=2017|isbn=9780819570871}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Isoroku Yamamoto}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/2WWyamamoto.htm Yamamoto biography] from [[Spartacus Educational]]
* [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9077762/Yamamoto-Isoroku "Isoroku Yamamoto"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-for/japan/japrs-xz/i-yamto.htm Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Navy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050301083453/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-for/japan/japrs-xz/i-yamto.htm |date=March 1, 2005 }} US Naval Historical Center
* [http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/g4m/2656.html Pacific Wrecks. Place where Yamamoto Type 1 bomber crash]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122025/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1970/1/1970_1_11.shtml The Great Pacific War]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070607195210/http://www.geocities.jp/torikai007/war/1943/yamamoto.html The Assassination of Yamamoto in 1943] {{in lang|ja}}
* [http://combinedfleet.com/officers/Isoroku_Yamamoto CombinedFleet.com, Isoroku Yamamoto]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/041026}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Tsudome Takemi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Japanese cruiser Isuzu|''Isuzu'']]<br />Commanding Officer|years=August 20 – December 10, 1928}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hani Rokurō]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kobayashi Seizaburō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|''Akagi'']]<br />Commanding Officer|years=December 10, 1928 – October 8, 1929}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kitagawa Kiyoshi]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oikawa Koshirō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[First Carrier Division]]<br />Commander|years=October 3, 1933 – June 1, 1934}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Wada Hideo]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kōichi Shiozawa|Shiozawa Kōichi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau|Naval Aviation Bureau]]<br />Director|years=December 2, 1935 – December 1, 1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Oikawa Koshirō]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kiyoshi Hasegawa (admiral)|Hasegawa Kiyoshi]]|}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Vice-Minister of the Navy]]| years=December 1, 1936 – August 30, 1939}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sumiyama Tokutarō]]|}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oikawa Koshirō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau|Naval Aviation Bureau]]<br />Director|years=April 25, 1938 – November 15, 1938}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Teijirō Toyoda|Toyoda Teijirō]]}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Yoshida Zengo]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|1st Fleet]]<br />Commander-in-chief|years=August 30, 1939 – August 11, 1941}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shirō Takasu|Takasu Shirō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Combined Fleet]]<br />Commander-in-chief|years=August 30, 1939 – April 18, 1943}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mineichi Koga|Koga Mineichi]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Subject bar |portal1=Biography |portal2=Japan|commons=y |q=y}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Isoroku}}
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[[Category:Isoroku Yamamoto| ]]
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[[Category:Victims of aircraft shootdowns]]
[[Category:Japanese naval attachés]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Australia]]
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[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943]]
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