ISOROKU YAMAMOTO
1884 - 1943

Isoroku Yamamoto was born Isoroku Takano. He changed his surname when the Yamamoto family offered to adopt him in 1916. The Yamamotos were in need of a son and heir. Isoroku was the youngest Takano son and was honored to take on the famous Yamamoto name.

I recommend the book Yamamoto - the man who planned Pearl Harbor by Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1990). 

Isoroku means five, ten, six in Japanese. That's because his dad was fifty-six years old when he was born. Isoroku was born on April 4, 1884, in Nagaoka, Japan. He lived
59 years and was an admiral in the Japanese navy. He also worked as naval attaché at the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C., and several other jobs for the Japanese government.

Isoroku's hobbies were kendo, reading the bible (although he was not a Christian), and gambling. His sister was Kazuko, his brother was Kihachi. He liked his sports coach, Haneda, a lot. Isoroku's father was the former samurai Sadayoshi Takano. His mother was Mineko.


STRENGTHS
Military strategy was his strengths. He was also very attentive to details and nothing came between himself and his duty.


World War II
He was against getting into the Second World War and the war with the United States because he thought the US was too powerful. But it was not for him to decide. So, once Japan made the decision, he knew that his country's only chance for victory lay in a surprise attack that would cripple the American naval forces in the Pacific. He therefore conceived the plan to attack Pearl Harbor.


WEAKNESSES
Isoroku underestimated submarine warfare on commercial targets. Another big mistake was that he didn't pay attention when he was told that the Americans had deciphered Japan's codes.