Miyazaki Reizō

Miyazaki Reizō (宮崎 禮三, 8 November 1876 – 3 April 1962) was a Yamataian commander of the Yamatai Imperial Army during the Second Escar-Varunan War. He attained the rank of Field Marshal, the second-highest rank in the Imperial Army.

Born in 1876 in the northern Yamataian city of Morioka in Morioka Province, Miyazaki's family were wealthy traders who earned their wealth via the tuna trade for generations. Miyazaki joined the Imperial Army at a young age and attended the Kuromorimine Military Academy, later seeing service in the First Escar-Varunan War. After the war, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was involved in various overseas officer exchange programs, visiting Achtotlan and Zusea. He became a strong proponent of introducing combined arms warfare and modern weapons such as tanks into the Imperial Army.

Becoming part of the Army Strategic Development Department, Miyazaki was one of the main developers of Operation Ōka, an ambitious plan to conquer the entirety of Chisei. Initially planned for a summer 1940 offensive against Chisei, the outbreak of the Second Escar-Varunan War and Chisei's invasion of the Yamataian New Territories led the Yamataian leadership to accelerate their plans for their own invasion of Chisei. In 1938, Miyazaki was promoted to Field Marshal and placed in overall command of Imperial Army forces in Chisei with orders to launch Operation Ōka, replacing Field Marshal Maeda Yumeno as the supreme commander of Yamataian forces in Chisei.

However, by 1940 and the addition of Chanha into the war, the Yamataian situation in the war began to take a turn for the worse. During the 1943 Invasion of Hinomoto, Miyazaki was placed in overall command of the defence of Hinomoto.

After the war, Miyazaki became considered a scapegoat for the defeat of Yamatai in the war, but was also too respected as a military leader and strategist to be removed easily by his detractors. Various struggles regarding what to do with him ensued within the Imperial Army leadership, and he remained in a meaningless command of the administrative headquarters of the no longer existent Continental Front for several years and contemplated ending his military career. In 1949 he was selected by the new Imperial Grand Marshal, Okabe Nariakira, to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Okabe had been a major supporter of Miyazaki since the war and viewed him as a mentor and strategic genius. Miyazaki's efforts on the global diplomatic stage laid the ground work for bridging the gap between Yamatai and its former adversaries, in an ironic twist.

In 1955, Miyazaki retired and returned to his estate in Makino, Shiba. He later passed away on 3 April 1962.

Miyazaki's legacy as one of Yamatai's most brilliant strategists and military heroes is remembered to this day, though he remains a divisive figure with regards to the degree to which he was responsible for Yamatai's defeat in the war. Viewpoints range from the idea that he was a strategic genius who was hampered by overwhelming enemy force, poor tactical commanders, and poor equipment, to the concept that Miyazaki made numerous strategic blunders and underestimated the enemy due to arrogance.

His descendants are notable in Yamataian society. His son Miyazaki Asanobu was an Army officer during the Second Escar-Varunan War and later one of the major figures in the Aozora Group of Corporations in the post-war era, and his grand-daughter Miyazaki Reina is a diplomat who served as the Ambassador to New Hyspania and later the Yamataian Representative to the Ordic League. His great-granddaughter, Miyazaki Yukari, is one of the youngest billionaires in Yamatai and is a fashion mogul and is also involved in the tourism industry.