Hirokata Kawagishi was a Field Marshal of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Kawagishi was promoted to command the North China Area Army on 10 March 1936 in preparation for the Japanese invasion of Shanxi, which was ruled by the warlord Yan Xishan. Kawagishi would be the frontline commander of the Japanese troops in China for months, leading the fight against the Shanxi Clique and the Republic of China.