Kuroshima Kamehito (Date and time of photography unknown)

Kameto Kuroshima Kameto Kuroshima 1893-1965 Birthplace: Hiroshima Prefecture Navy Rear Admiral At the end of March 1941, Kuroshima was ordered by Secretary Isoroku Yamamoto to study the Hawaii Operation. He was on board the battleship Nagato. Since then, he had been confined to his private room on the ship, never taking a bath, and completely naked as he immersed himself in his research. His eccentric behavior earned him the nickname "eccentric chief of staff. By late August, Kuroshima and his staff members had formulated a plan for a surprise attack on Hawaii. However, the Navy's Military Command did not approve of the Hawaii raid. They believed that the operation would fail because "confidentiality would be difficult to maintain," "there was a high possibility of being detected by the enemy," and "it would be difficult to deploy all of the regular aircraft carriers. Kuroshima repeatedly visited the Command Conference and tried to persuade them. When the military commanders refused to budge, Kuroshima told them, "If the operation is not approved, Director Yamamoto is prepared to resign his position. We are prepared to do the same." He succeeded in convincing them of Secretary Yamamoto's true intentions. He then drew up a plan for the Battle of Midway and proposed a suicide attack, but the operation ultimately ended in failure. Colonel Kuroshima Kamehito, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet. (Photo by Kingendai PhotoLibrary/AFLO)