Umezawa Michiharu

Umezawa Michiharu (梅沢 道治) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who went on to become an officer in the Meiji period Imperial Japanese Army.

Biography
Born in the northern domain of Sendai, Umezawa fought in the Boshin War on the side of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei against the forces of Emperor Meiji. He was also a participant of the Battle of Hakodate. After the war he was taken into custody, and following his release in 1869, he enlisted into the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army.

In the Seinan War, Umezawa fought as a member of the IJA 3rd Infantry Regiment. During the First Sino-Japanese War, he was in charge of military logistics. With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Umezawa was initially sent to the front lines as commander of the Imperial Guards 4th Regiment. He was given a battlefield promotion to major general in July 1904 for heroism at the Battle of Shaho. He subsequently served as commander of the Reserve Brigade of the Imperial Guards.

In February 1906, Umezawa became commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Imperial Guards. In September 1911, Umezawa was promoted to lieutenant general and became commander in chief of the IJA 6th Division. In May 1914, he was awarded the 1st class of the Order of the Sacred Treasures, which he added to his existing collection of 2nd, 3rd and 4th class Order of the Golden Kite.

Umezawa entered the reserves in October 1915. In his final years, he suffered from rheumatism; he died at the age of 72 in January 1924.