, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Although born into the Kondō family of Shizuoka city Shizuoka Prefecture, Kimura was adopted by a family in Tottori city, Tottori prefecture soon after birth, and considered Tottori his official residence. He was a graduate of the 41st class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, but was a mediocre student, placing 107 out of 118 cadets. Kimura served his cadet duty on the , making a cruise to Honolulu and to the west coast of the United States. Commissioned as a midshipman on 9 December 1913, he transferred to on his return in 1914. After he was commissioned as an ensign on 1 December, he was assigned to the battleship and . After completing required coursework in torpedo warfare and naval artillery, he was posted to the South Pacific in the closing stages of World War I. On his return to Japan in 1918, he was posted to the . After his promotion to lieutenant in 1920, he commanded numerous torpedo boats and minesweepers. In 1926, after he was promoted to lieutenant commander, he was given command of the destroyer . He subsequently captained the destroyers , , , , river gunboats , , destroyer , Destroyer Group 16, Destroyer Group 21, Destroyer Group 8, auxiliary seaplane tender Kagu Maru, auxiliary oiler Shiretoko, and cruisers and . He was promoted to commander in 1932 and to captain in 1937. Kimura was captain of Suzuya during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He later assisted in the rescue of the crew of the after that cruiser had been hit and sunk by American bombers during the Battle of Midway. On 1 November 1942, Kimura was promoted to Rear Admiral. He subsequently served in a number of staff positions, and was also commander of Desron3, with , , , , Yukikaze, , , and . He was assigned to escort eight transports with 6000 soldiers of the IJA 51st Division and 400 marines from Rabaul to Lae, New Guinea. In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea on 3–4 March 1943, US Navy and RAAF bombers inflicted severe damage on the Japanese convoy, sinking all of the transports and four destroyers. Admiral Kimura was wounded by machine gun fire in the shoulder and stomach, and his flagship, Shirayuki, was among the four destroyers sunk during the engagement. He, and most