The Inspectorate General of Military Training (教育総監部, Kyōiku sōkanbu) was a section of the Imperial Japanese Army charged with military education and training in the army, except military aviation training. It was headed by an inspector general who was responsible for overseeing technical and tactical training, and who reported directly to the Emperor of Japan via the Imperial General Headquarters rather than to the Army Minister or the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office. The position of Inspector-General of Military Training was thus the third most powerful position within the Japanese Army.
History
The office of Inspectorate General of Military Training was established 20 January 1898, to provide a unified command for the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and the various specialized weaponry and technical training schools, and the military preparatory schools located in various locations around the country. It also had broad powers of oversight over Army logistics, transportation, and support issues. Due to its political power, the post was highly sought after by Army senior leadership, and a factional dispute over succession was one of the triggering factors of the February 26 Incident. The post was abolished with the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II.
Organization
- Headquarters
- Section 1. General Affairs (Personnel, Accounting, etc.)
- Section 2. General Training
- Section 3. Research and Training Regulations
- Section 4. Special Schools
- Artillery
- Military engineering
- Military logistics
- Cavalry (-> Armoured warfare from 1941)
- Chemical warfare (from 1941)
- Military communications (from 1941)
- Anti-aircraft warfare (from 1945)
Also from 1941, a 2nd Bureau was added to the organizational structure, to specialize in armored car training. However, military aviation always remained outside the jurisdiction of the Inspectorate.
List of Inspectors-General of Military Training
Name | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Field Marshal Masatake Terauchi | 22 January 1898 | 25 April 1900 |
2 | Field Marshal Michitsura Nozu | 25 April 1900 | 14 January 1904 |
3 | Field Marshal Masatake Terauchi | 14 January 1904 | 9 May 1905 |
4 | General Kanjirō Nishi | 9 May 1905 | 21 December 1908 |
5 | General Hisanao Ōshima | 21 December 1908 | 6 September 1911 |
6 | General Nobuoki Asada | 6 September 1911 | 22 April 1914 |
7 | Field Marshal Yūsaku Uehara | 22 April 1914 | 17 December 1915 |
8 | General Hyōe Ichinohe | 17 December 1915 | 26 August 1919 |
9 | General Kikuzō Ōtani | 26 August 1919 | 28 December 1920 |
10 | General Yoshifuru Akiyama | 28 December 1920 | 17 March 1923 |
11 | General Jirō Ōba | 17 March 1923 | 2 March 1926 |
12 | General Shinnosuke Kikuchi | 2 March 1926 | 22 August 1927 |
13 | Field Marshal Baron Nobuyoshi Mutō | 22 August 1927 | 26 May 1932 |
14 | General Senjūrō Hayashi | 26 May 1932 | 23 January 1934 |
15 | General Jinzaburō Masaki | 23 January 1934 | 16 July 1935 |
16 | General Jōtarō Watanabe | 16 July 1935 | 26 February 1936 |
17 | General Yoshikazu Nishi | 26 February 1936 | 1 August 1936 |
18 | Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama | 1 August 1936 | 9 February 1937 |
19 | Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi | 9 February 1937 | 26 August 1937 |
20 | Field Marshal Shunroku Hata | 26 August 1937 | 14 February 1938 |
21 | General Rikichi Andō | 14 February 1938 | 30 April 1938 |
22 | General Toshizō Nishio | 30 April 1938 | 14 October 1940 |
23 | General Otozō Yamada | 14 October 1940 | 18 July 1944 |
24 | Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama | 18 July 1944 | 22 November 1944 |
25 | Field Marshal Shunroku Hata | 23 November 1944 | 7 April 1945 |
26 | General Kenji Doihara | 7 April 1945 | 25 August 1945 |
27 | General Sadamu Shimomura | 25 August 1945 | 15 October 1945 |
References
- Edgerton, Robert B. (1999). Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3600-7.
- Harries, Meirion (1994). Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House. ISBN 0-679-75303-6.