Thanks to COVID hitting my family, we all have been recovering at home. I decided to use the time to sort through old photos and family documents.

My cousins had made copies of one of the my great grandmother’s albums and had given it to my Aunt Hatsumi to jot down who those people were.

One photo in particular caught my eye because it was definitely an officer in the Japanese Imperial Navy. There was no name just a note stating he was in active duty.

I set out to find out who this person was and found a group who studied naval history in Japan. Based on several notes from my great aunt’s journals, I pieced together some clues and sure enough, those experts found his record.

Thanks to some Japanese Imperial Navy scholars, my relative has a name: Tsuyoshi Kobata

Here’s his entire Imperial Japanese Navy career:

KOBATA Tsuyoshi 木幡行
Naval Academy 37 (113 of 179)
Naval College 20
BORN – 02 June 1887, in Fukushima Prefecture
MID – 19 November 1909
SOYA Crewmember – 19 November 1909 – 16 July 1910
MIKASA Crewmember – 16 July 1910 – 01 December 1910
KASUGA Crewmember – 01 December 1910 – 22 May 1911
ENS – 27 February 1911
TSUGARU Crewmember – 22 May 1911 – 24 April 1912
Gunnery School Basic Course – 24 April 1912 – 09 August 1912
Torpedo School Basic Course – 09 August 1912 – 20 December 1912
LTJG – 01 December 1912
Member of 2nd Torpedo Boat Group – 20 December 1912 – 01 December 1913
KURAMA Crewmember – 01 December 1913 – 17 March 1915
KUSUNOKI Crewmember – 17 March 1915 – 08 September 1915
AZUMA Crewmember – 08 September 1915 – 01 December 1916
LT – 01 December 1916
Naval College Basic Course – 01 December 1916 – 01 May 1917
Torpedo School Advanced Course – 01 May 1917 – 01 December 1917
Torpedo Boat Commanding Officer, 2nd Torpedo Boat Group – 01 December 1917 – 10 September 1918
Torpedo School Instructor – 01 December 1917 – 10 September 1918
2nd Special Task Fleet Assistant Staff Officer – 10 September 1918 – 01 November 1918
KASHI Crewmember – 01 November 1918 – 01 June 1920
AKEBONO Commanding Officer – 01 June 1920 – 01 December 1920
Naval College Advanced Course – 01 December 1920 – 01 December 1922
LCDR – 01 December 1922
NIRE Commanding Officer – 01 December 1922 – 01 May 1923
ASAMA Division Officer – 01 May 1923 – 01 May 1924
Naval Academy Instructor / Trainer – 01 May 1924 – 01 December 1925
ISE Torpedo Officer – 01 December 1925 – 01 December 1926
CDR – 01 December 1926
1st Fleet / Combined Fleet Staff Officer – 01 December 1926 – 10 December 1928
USUGUMO Commanding Officer – 10 December 1928 – 15 November 1929
Attached to Naval General Staff & Navy Department – 15 November 1929 – 30 November 1929
Navy Department Education Bureau 2nd & 1st Section Staff Officer – 30 November 1929 – 14 November 1931
ComDesDiv 22 – 14 November 1931 – 15 November 1933
CAPT – 01 December 1931
KINU Commanding Officer – 15 November 1933 – 01 November 1934
Mako Guard District Chief-of-Staff – 01 November 1934 – 01 December 1936
Yokosuka Defense Unit Commanding Officer – 01 December 1936 – 01 December 1937
RADM – 01 December 1937
Attached to Naval General Staff – 01 December 1937 – 15 December 1937
Awaiting Orders – 15 December 1937 – 21 December 1937
Reserve Status – 21 December 1937 – 10 November 1943
Job Assistant with China Area Fleet – 10 November 1943 – 15 August 1945
DIED – 10 August 1977 (aged 90)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wikiJapanese_cruiser_Kinu

I am just amazed at the mysteries being solved after decades of clouds about my family. I don’t want these old photos to have no story and if I can put a name and a face to it, it can tell a very neat story to the next generation.