Hideki Tojo was born in December 1884. His father, Hidenori, was an officer in the Japanese army, with a reputation as a brilliant tactician, the scion of a minor Samurai family. Hideki was originally the third son of seven boys and three girls but his two elder brothers died in infancy, leaving Hideki as the eldest son, a position of grave responsibility in a Japanese family. The young Tojo was destined for a military career; photographs show him in military uniform while little more than a toddler.
His early education was marked by undistinguished grades and school yard fights. Tojo hated to be bested, however, and he became an excellent student at the military academy he attended in Tokyo. It was here that he opted to join the cavalry, generally regarded as the elite branch of military service. In 1902 Tojo entered the central military preparatory school. He was graduated as a 2nd lieutenant and sent to the front lines during the waning days of the Russo-Japanese war. His term of service was dull, the class had been graduated early because of the need for officers, but there was little for them to do by the time they were ready and almost no opportunity for rapid advancement in the field. Tojo returned from overseas duty in 1906, received a minor decoration and a promotion to 1st lieutenant. He lived the quiet, routine life of a junior officer for several years until he entered the War College in 1912.
Meanwhile, in 1909, Hideki Tojo married Katsu Ito. Katsu was an unusual girl. In an age when women were almost wholly uneducated she was attending college, working towards a degree in Japanese literature. Due to family and marital duties she never finished her degree, but she never lost her scholarly bent either. Between 1911 and 1932 they had seven children together. Later, during the war, she made public and radio speeches in support of her husband and the Japanese war effort.
