Ōdera Yasuzumi
was a general in the early Imperial Japanese Army, and the highest ranking casualty on the Japanese side in the First Sino-Japanese War. Life and career Ōdera was born in Satsuma Domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture), as the second son of a samurai in the service of the Shimazu clan. He studied at the domain's military academy, and fought in the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration. During the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he fought alongside fellow Satsuma clansmen Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Shibayama Yahachi. In an anecdotal account of the battle, Ōdera was sleeping when Tokugawa forces opened fire. When awakened by his comrades, he complained that he could not see the enemy since it was too dark, and he would wait until daylight to fire back as he did not want to waste ammunition. In 1872, he entered the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army as a second lieutenant. He was soon promoted to lieutenant, and in February 1874, Ōdera participated in the suppression of the Saga Rebellion, followed by the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. He later served in the Hiroshima Military District, the IJA 12th Infantry Regiment, During the Satsuma Rebellion, he was a company commander. During the campaign, he lost