Yamagishi Kageaki

Yamagishi Kageaki (山岸 景章; 30 June 1880 - 13 February 1947) was a Yamataian officer in the Yamatai Imperial Army. He fought in both the First Escar-Varunan War and the Second Escar-Varunan War, and was a famous tactician recognised as one of the Five Deadly Swords.

Born in Kawazaki, Yamagishi was conscripted into the Imperial Army at the age of 20 and decided to become a regular officer. Yamagishi served with the infantry as a battalion commander during the First Escar-Varunan War, during which he became acquainted with the future Field Marshal Inaba Youji. During the Second Escar-Varunan War, Yamagishi was a excellent tactician and led Yamatai Imperial Army forces during the battles on mainland Chisei, initially leading the 6th Army and later commanding the Army Group Central after the death of General Kishitani Shūgo.

Yamagishi continued to command Army Group Central until the invasion of Hinomoto, when he ceded command of his remaining forces to General Arai Toshiyuki and returned to Heian as commander of the 222nd Aviation Training Squadron. This was mainly a political move, however, as Field Marshal Inaba was consolidating his political allies in preparation for the Kōkyo Incident, when Inaba launched his coup and absconded with the battleship Oyashima in order to sign a ceasefire with the Escaric Allies. After the conclusion of the war, Yamagishi assumed command of the 7th Logistics Department in charge of food distribution efforts in southern Yamatai. On 13 February 1947, Yamagishi was hit by a car while he was in Heian and died on the spot.

During the war, Yamagishi displayed brilliant tactical sense and was considered one of the Five Deadly Swords of the Imperial Army, alongside Inaba Youji, Kitagawa Ryōichi, Uchida Minori, and Arai Toshiyuki. Yamagishi was also well known in the military community for his interest in martial arts and his large build and immense physical strength, attaining the nickname "Yamakabe" ("Mountain-Wall"). Post-war, Yamagishi's name became famous in the civilian world as his and the other Five Deadly Swords' exploits were promulgated by the Yamataian government to boost morale.

Several rumours involving his strength abounded both during his time as a soldier and after his death, including a largely apocryphal story that he had punched straight through a man during a fight in his junior officer days, and another that he had simultaneously challenged 20 Chiseian POWs to a martial arts fight to the death, killing them all within 10 minutes of hand-to-hand combat. Another more bizarre story involving Yamagishi suggests that he was not killed in the car accident, and instead was sent on an undercover mission to replace Colonel Fujimoto Saburo in enacting Operation Kemurikage II, a mass insurgency in occupied Hinomoto, though it has been conclusively proven that all plans for Kemurikage II ended with Fujimoto's death.

Yamagishi's ashes are interred his family's estate at Kawazaki. He had four children.