Jirō Tamon

Jirō Tamon (多門 二郎, Tamon Jirō, 28 September 1878 – 24 November 1934) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the early Second Sino-Japanese War. He was noted as the commander in many of the operations of the invasion of Manchuria.

A native of Shizuoka prefecture, Tamon graduated from the 11th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1898, and served in the Russo-Japanese War. After the end of the war, he graduated from the 21st class of the Army Staff College in 1909. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the IJA 6th Division. After commanding the IJA 62nd Infantry Regiment and spending six months on tour in Europe, he was assigned to the IJA 27th Infantry Regiment based in Siberia in 1920 as part of Japan's Siberian Intervention during the Russian Civil War. During the conflict, he was assigned an independent command (the “Tamon Task Force”), which was part of the relief force for Nikolayevsk-on-Amur after the Nikolayevsk Incident.

Later, he was attached to the staff of the Sakhalin Expeditionary Force. Tamon commanded the IJA 2nd Regiment from 1921 to 1922. He was then Chief of Staff of the IJA 4th Division until 1924, when he was given command of IJA 6th Infantry Brigade.

Tamon was Chief of the 4th Bureau of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from 1925 to 1927, and then returned to the Army War College, first as Director, then as Commandant in 1929.

From 1930 to 1933, as lieutenant general Tamon commanded IJA 2nd Division. While in Manchuria in 1931 he took the lead in the Jiangqiao Campaign, Chinchow Operation, and in overcoming the defense of Harbin, in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria following the Mukden Incident. After he was relieved in 1933 he went into reserve, and was retired. He died the next year.