I whanau mai ki tetahi whanau "samurai" o mua mai i Kokura (i tenei wa tetahi waahanga o Kitakyushu City), Fukuoka Prefecture, i puta a Sugiyama i te akomanga 12 o te Imperial Japanese Army Academy i te 1901. I mahi ia hei rangatira rangatahi me te 3rd Battalion o te 14th Regiment o te IJA 12th Division i te Pakanga a Ruhia-Hapani, a i whara ia i te mata i te Pakanga o Shaho
He aha? Nā ngā mate i puta mai i taua whara, kāore i taea e ia te tino whakatuwhera i tōna kanohi matau.