Army general. Akiyama was considered the father of the modern Japanese cavalry. He was Vice Admiral Saneyuki Akiyama's older brother. Born as the third son to a poor samurai in the Matsuyama Domain, Iyo Province (modern Ehime Prefecture), Akiyama's family was so poor in his childhood that he was forced to work as a fire stoker and janitor in a local public bathhouse for a pittance each day. Akiyama entered the Rikugunshikangakkō (the forerunner of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy) in 1877. He went on to attend the War College, and was sent as a military attaché to France to study cavalry tactics and techniques. He was the only Japanese officer sent to study cavalry in France at that time when the Army imitated everything from the German Army. Akiyama had very pale skin and large eyes (for a Japanese in the era). He was often mistaken for a European student by many foreign instructors such as Jakob Meckel while at the Army Academy, and developed a reputation as a "ladies' man," much to the envy of his colleagues during his stay in France, whereas he himself disliked his attractive looks. He was an impartial man who had a bowl of rice with slices of pickles for his meal. However, he spent his money on Sake which was his best friend throughout his life; he drank it even on battlefield. He was a heavy drinker. Akiyama was active in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 as a cavalry regimental commander in the IJA 1st Division, and served in the subsequent Boxer Rebellion with the IJA 5th Division. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he led his troops in the Battle of Shaho, Battle of Sandepu, and in the Battle of Mukden. Akiyama became commander of the IJA 13th Division in 1913, and after his promotion to full general in 1916, was given command of the Imperial Guards Division. The following year, he was assigned command of the Chosen Army. In 1920, he became Director General for Military Education. After he retired from military service in 1923, he returned to his native island of Shikoku and became the principal of the Hokuyo Junior High School (present-day Matsuyama High School). Akiyama died in 1930, and his grave is in Matsuyama. Akiyama is the main character in "Saka no ue no kumo," a novel by Ryotaro Shiba, which was broadcast as a historical drama on the Japanese government television network NHK in 2008.