Aruga was a native of
Nagano prefecture, and graduated from the 45th class of the
Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1917, ranked 58th of 89 cadets. He served his
midshipman duty on the
cruiser and battleship
Hyūga, and completed
naval artillery and
torpedo warfare coursework from 1918 to 1919. After he was commissioned as an
ensign, he served on a number of
destroyers. From November 1922-November 1923, he was assigned to the battleship . After his promotion to
lieutenant in December 1923, he served as chief torpedo officer on the
destroyers and , followed by the
light cruisers and . After his promotion to
lieutenant commander in 1929, Aruga received his first command; the destroyer . This was followed by in 1930, ,
Akikaze in 1932, in 1933 and in 1934. After a shore assignment to the
Chinkai Guard District from 1935 to 1937, Aruga returned to sea as the
executive officer on the cruiser . He subsequently commanded 1st Minesweeper Division and Destroyer Division 11 (DesDiv 11), and was promoted to
captain in November 1940.
Arashi and the rest of destroyer division 4 escorted the Japanese aircraft carriers at the battle of Midway, 4-5 June 1942. During the action,
Arashi was attacked by the submarine USS
Nautilus, prompting Captain Aruga to order an attack;
Arashi dropped 28 depth charges and failed to sink
Nautilus. The attack allowed
Arashi to be spotted by American aircraft, which trailed
Arashi to the location of the Japanese aircraft carriers, leading to a devastating defeat which saw all four Japanese aircraft carriers fatally wounded by US aircraft carriers, prompting Aruga to lead destroyer division 4 in rescuing survivors from the mauled
Akagi and
Kaga, before scuttling both carriers with torpedo hits. After the battle,
Arashi picked up the downed American pilot Ensign Wesley Osmus, who was likely murdered on ''Arashi's
bow, stabbed in the back by a fire axe then thrown off the ship. Blame is placed on Arashi's
personal commander Watanabe Yasumasa (who later died on the destroyer Numakaze''). Recalled to Japan in June 1944 after he developed
malaria, Aruga served as chief instructor at the Torpedo School until November of that year, when he was reassigned to the
2nd Fleet. On 25 November 1944, he was given command of the battleship . In April 1945, under
Operation-Ten Gō,
Yamato was assigned on a suicide mission against the American forces at the
Battle of Okinawa. Given only enough fuel for a one-way mission and only a cruiser and eight destroyers as an escort,
Yamato was to wreak havoc on the American landing operation, and to beach herself on the
Okinawa shore as a coastal fortress. On April 7, 1945,
Yamato was sunk by waves of
U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft. Aruga refused to leave, lashed himself to the binnacle, and
went down with his ship. He was posthumously promoted two steps in rank to
vice admiral. ==In film==