Katurou Imahara

This is a Senrian name; the family name is Imahara.

Prime Minister of Senria Katurou Imahara 이마하라까뚜로우
1st Prime Minister of Senria
In office December 11, 1933 – December 13, 1948
Deputy	Itigo Nakagawa Hatirou Nakayama
Preceded by	Position created Himself (as Chairman)
Succeeded by	Hatirou Nakayama
Chairman of the Government of National Preservation
In office July 10, 1927 – December 11, 1933
Preceded by	Position created Isao Isiyama (as Speaker)
Succeeded by	Position abolished Himself (as Prime Minister)
Member of the Council of the Senrian State
In office January 25, 1926 – July 10, 1927
President	Isao Isiyama
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Position abolished Himself (as Chairman)
Personal details
Born	September 30, 1883 Marugame, Senria
Died	April 5, 1954 (70 years) Saeki, Senria
Nationality	Senrian
Political party	Aikokutou
Spouse	Keiko Minamoto
Children	Kitirou Imahara (adopted)
Alma mater	Tokiyori Imperial Military Academy
Profession	Soldier, general, politician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Senria (1901-1926) Republic of Senria (1926-1954)
Branch/service	Imperial Senrian Army (1901-1926) Senrian Republican Army (1926-1954)
Rank	Grand marshal
Battles/wars	First Sakata Incident 1909 Concession Riots Senrian Revolution Second Sakata Incident Great War

Katurou Imahara (Senrian: 이마하라까뚜로우, Imahara Katurou; Gyoumon: 今原勝郎; September 30, 1883 - April 5, 1954) was a Senrian military and political leader who served as the leader of Senria, first as head of the Government of National Preservation and then as Prime Minister, between 1927 and 1948. He played an important role in both the Senrian Revolution and the Great War, and in the subsequent reconstruction of the country into a military and economic power, undertaking a sweeping set of reforms in line with is personal ideology; as a result, he is widely known as the "Father of the Fatherland" within Senria.

Born into a sizoku family in Nisiyama, Imahara was groomed for a life in the military; he graduated from Tokiyori Imperial Military Academy and became an officer in the Imperial Senrian Army in 1901, ascending to the rank of general by 1919. Initially a distinguished figure on the imperial side during the Senrian Revolution, he became frustrated with the imperial government and subsequently became a leading figure in the Gang of Six, the group of generals that overthrew the Dragon King Katuhito in 1926. He subsequently formed a power-sharing agreement between the Gang of Six and the revolutionary government of Isao Isiyama, forming the Aikokutou to compete with Isiyama's Kyouwakai politically.

The ensuing government, headed by the Council of the Senrian State, was frequently paralyzed by conflict between Imahara and Isiyama. In 1926, with Isiyama's backing, Imahara provoked the Second Sakata Incident as a means of restoring public confidence in the struggling government. The Second Sakata Incident subsequently escalated into the Great War in 1927; with the divided government struggling to respond to a Xiaodongese invasion, the Council of the Senrian State voted to give Imahara unlimited power as the chairman of a "Government of National Preservation" for the duration of the conflict. As chairman, Imahara embarked on a campaign of total war, mobilizing all sectors of society towards the industrialization of the country and the modernization of the Senrian Republican Armed Forces. As the leader of a major Allied power, Imahara was involved heavily in the alliance's decision-making. Under his command, the Senrian military was able to slow and subsequently reverse the Xiaodongese advance, eventually launching an invasion of Xiaodong in 1933 and obtaining Xiaodong's surrender in 1935 after eight years of conflict.

Following the expulsion of Xiaodongese forces from Senria in 1932, Imahara oversaw the drafting of a new constitution, and was elected Prime Minister of Senria the following year. As Prime Minister, Imahara established a dominant-party state under the leadership of the Aikokutou, with public dissent strictly controlled and opposition groups subject to surveillance and periodic harassment. He also undertook a rigorous program of political and economic reforms aimed at continuing the country's industrialization, further modernizing the country's military, updating the country's legal and penal systems, and expanding infrastructure and public services, with the end goal of establishing a modern nation-state and bringing Senrian living standards on par with those in Euclea. He expanded social rights for women and burakumin, but simultaneously promoted "traditional morals" through initiatives such as the Public Virtue Movement. Imahara also worked tirelessly to promote Senrian culture and Senrian nationalism; his government heavily promoted museums and the arts, oversaw the shift from Gyoumon characters to the Kokumon script, and pursued a policy of Senrianization for ethnic minorities. Imahara further successfully sought the end of the various concessions and privileges imposed on Senria in previous decades by Euclean powers. He was reelected in 1938, 1943, and 1948; with his health declining, however, he opted to step down in 1953, handing power to Hatirou Nakayama. Imahara died of renal failure in 1954.

Imahara's political legacy is substantial and controversial. He is widely admired and memorialized in Senria, where he is credited with leading Senria to victory during the Great War and transforming the country into a modern economic and military power, and where his ideology, Imaharism, remains influential into the present. Imahara's military leadership played a critical role in both the Senrian Revolution and the Great War, and he is widely regarded as one of Kylaris's most talented military commander as a result. His supporters also credit him with vastly improving the Senrian standard of living, implementing women's suffrage, and promoting culture and the arts. Detractors and critics of Imahara's rule, however, denounce him as a military dictator who aggressively suppressed opposition in the name of preserving social order, violated the rights of ethnic minorities, established the monopolistic keiretu system, and created a culture of endemic corruption and illiberalism in Senrian governance.

Early life and education

Imahara was born on September 30, 1883 in the town of Marugame to Hiroyuki and Satiko Imahara. He was the sixth of seven children; he had three older sisters, one younger sister, and two older brothers. Both elder brothers were stillborn, however, and Imahara was treated as his parents' eldest, and only, son as a result. His parents had initially planned to give their sons generation names, as was typical among upper-class Senrians of the time, but following the stillbirths of his first two sons, his father opted to give Imahara the name Katurou (勝郎), literally meaning "victorious son", instead.

Satiko died of tuberculosis when Imahara was five, and as a result he was primarily raised by his father. The Imahara family belonged to the sizoku caste; his ancestors had been landed samurai for several generations and his father was a general in the Imperial Senrian Army who had played an important role in the Keiou Restoration, and as a result it was expected that Imahara would enter the military as well. Hiroyuki Imahara groomed his son for a military career from birth, as Imahara later recounted:

In my early childhood I was somewhat bookish, particularly inclined towards the classics of Senrian literature and poetry. My father did not oppose these interests - a proper warrior was supposed to be properly versed in these classics - but he did press me to place my primary focus upon those subjects which would more directly prepare me for a military career. So he instructed me to read military histories, works on strategy and tactics, and the biographies of famous commanders from Senria and elsewhere, and had me trained in both traditional and modern martial arts. Initially I had some hesitation, but he guided me firmly, and ultimately I took enthusiastically to these areas as well.

Imahara enrolled as a cadet at Tokiyori National Military Academy in 1901; he excelled in his classes and was popular both with his fellow students and with faculty. He graduated in 1905 as first in his class, immediately thereafter becoming an officer in the Imperial Senrian Army.

Before the Senrian Revolution

Imahara in the late 1910s.

[initial stationing; meeting and marrying his wife]

[his last name, academic record and competence, tendency to ingratiate himself to superiors, and ambition help him rise through the officer ranks shockingly quickly; he plays a minor role during the First Sakata Incident and during the subsequent 1909 Concession Riots he is credited with somewhat forcibly defusing a riot in the town where he's in charge of the garrison]

[this results in him being promoted further and reassigned to command a military garrison in Keisi, senria's capital]

During the Senrian Revolution

[as the commander of one of the garrisons in keisi, imahara possibly played some role in the massacre which provoked the senrev, though this is a charged topic then and now; the senrev begins as republicans led by Ryuunosuke Miyamoto and his Kyouwakai flee to Ukyou and declare a rival government ]

[as the revolution breaks out, Dragon King hisahito promotes imahara - all of thirty-five - to general and orders him to the front, where he proves a very competent commander]

[in 1919, hisahito is assassinated while travelling between the palace and tokiyori; his successor, katuhito, is left deeply paranoid by this and, as imahara was previously a garrison commander in keisi, reassigns him to command all garrisons in keisi; this frustrates imahara who wants to remain on the front, but he complies. he also orders a stupidly large number of soldiers and supplies expended upon fortifying keisi, over imahara's protests]

Gang of Six and the Reaping

Main article: Gang of Six (Senria)

[imahara is angry that he has to sit around keisi while the war is being fought elsewhere, and that both his protests and requests for reassignment are being ignored or rejected; he begins to reach out to other generals who are frustrated with katuhito rerouting supplies, countermanding orders, and generally mucking up the war effort; gradually a conspiracy begins to emerge to sideline or, potentially, dethrone the emperor]

[imahara and his close friend Itigo Nakagawa, an admiral based in keisi, form the initial core; they gain the explicit participation of generals Sintarou Miyake, Nobuyuki Youiti, and Isoroku Nomura and admiral Ienobu Miyazawa, who become the Gang of Six and the tacit consent of several others in the officers corps; loyalist general Noriyosi Horitome attempts to alert katuhito that he thinks there's funny business but katuhito dismisses it, in part because imahara's father was part of the keiou restoration]

[the 1925 Great Kinkeidou Earthquake destroys what little public support the monarchy still has; imahara and his wife, who have been unable to concieve, adopt an orphan named Kitirou Maeno; at the same time, imahara and the gang of six agree that clearly the monarchy is screwed and their best bet is to launch the plot, seize the capital and the emperor, and negotiate with the republicans of Isao Isiyama]

[the plan is carried out on January 17, 1926, The Reaping; it goes off basically without a hitch and imahara's forces capture keisi and the emperor]

[as a result of having keisi and katuhito, imahara becomes de facto leader of the gang, and isiyama opts to negotiate with him; a compromise between the two men is reached, and the senrev ends]

Before the Great War

[council of senrian state shenanigans]

Honors

Senrian honors

• Knight Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the Jade Dragon
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crimson Phoenix
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Plum Blossom
• Honor Saber of the Rearing Stag with Golden Tassel
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Diligent Ox
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Tricolor Banner
• Order of the Senrian Revolution, First Class
• Order of the War of Patriotic Resistance, First Class
• Order of the Striking Crane, First Class
• Order of the Roaring Tiger, First Class
• Order of the Empress Genmei, First Class
• Order of Service to the Senrian Nation, First Class