Nashiba was born in
Chōshū Domain (now
Yamaguchi Prefecture, as the 4th son to a 1000
koku samurai retainer. As a child, he was adopted into the Nashiba family, and took their name. His older brother was Admiral
Arichi Shinanojo. As a
samurai youth, he fought as a battalion commander in the
Boshin War to overthrow the
Tokugawa shogunate. He then served in the new
Meiji government in the
Railway Ministry from 1871. In August 1880, he joined the
Imperial Japanese Navy, serving on
frigate and corvettes , , , and . During the
First Sino-Japanese War, he was on the
gunboat followed by the corvette . After the war, he served as commander of the
torpedo school at
Kure Naval District, following which he captained the ,
Katsuragi,
Kongō, , , , , and battleship . He was then promoted in July 1903 to
rear admiral,
commander in chief of the
Kure Naval District and commander in chief of the
Readiness Fleet. With the
Russo-Japanese War, Nashiba assumed command of the IJN 1st Fleet, which was responsible for blockading the Russian Pacific Fleet within
Port Arthur. On 14 May 1904 he put to sea with the battleships
Hatsuse (flag),
Shikishima, and , cruiser , and
dispatch-vessel Tatsuta to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur. On the morning of 15 May, the squadron proceeded to patrol to east by north across the mouth of the port. This course brought the Japanese fleet into a
minefield previously laid by the Russian minelayer
Amur. Both
Hatsuse and
Yashima struck
naval mines and were lost in the greatest Japanese naval disasters during the Russo-Japanese War. After the war, Nashiba served in a number of staff positions at
Yokosuka Naval District and
Sasebo Naval District, and was appointed commander of the
Mako Guard District. He was promoted the
vice admiral in March 1907, and retired from active service in October of the same year. In September 1907, Nashiba was ennobled with the title of
baron (
danshaku) under the
kazoku peerage system and served in the
House of Peers from 1911 to 1918. ==Sources==