Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Baron It Toshiyoshi (28 March 1840 - 10 April 1921) was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as the first Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in the late 19th century. It was born in Tanabe Domain, in what is now part of Maizuru city, Kyoto prefecture. A gifted child with a flare for mathematics, he was sent by the domain leaders to Edo, where he studied rangaku under noted military theorist mura Masujir . He served in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy as captain of the frigate Kasuga in 1871, with the rank of lieutenant commander. He served as executive officer on the corvette Nisshin the following year, and was promoted to commander in 1873.