Naval officer, statesman. Born in Iwate, the son of a samurai of the Mizusawa Clan. In 1879, he graduated from the Naval Academy. In 1884, he went to the United States to study and became military attaché to the legation. In 1888, after returning to Japan, he served as a member of the Navy General Staff Office, captain of the warships Akitsushima and Itsukushima. He was Vice Navy Minister when the Russo-Japanese War broke out. Served as Minister of Navy for 8 years, from the first Saionji cabinet until the first Yamamoto cabinet, during which he continued to work for the expansion of the navy. In 1912, he was promoted to admiral. In 1919, he became the fourth governor-general of Korea. In 1927, he took part in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament as the commissioner plenipotentiary, and became a privy councillor. In 1932, after the May 15 Incident (a right wing coup d'etat), he became the Prime Minister of the national unity cabinet. In 1934, after the cabinet resigned en masse because of the Teijin Incident (a bribery scandal related to the Teijin Silk Company), he became Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal but was assassinated during February 26 Incident.