Ships
- IJN Kitakami Captain from 1 December 1944 · Relieved on 15 August 1945
Kunizo Kanaoka was a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy who commanded the light cruiser Kitakami from 1 December 1944 to 15 August 1945.
The sources used here do not record his date or place of birth or anything about his family.
He graduated from the Naval Academy at Etajima in its 48th class, and before this command he had been commander of Destroyer Division 22.
He took command on 1 December 1944. The rebuilding was finished on 20 January 1945, and he took her to Kure, where she trained kaiten pilots in the Inland Sea when fuel allowed. On 24 July 1945 aircraft of Task Force 38 damaged her at Kurahashi-jima with strafing and near misses and killed 32 of her men. He left her on 15 August 1945.
He was then appointed captain of the carrier Hosho.