Imperial Japanese Army Academy
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The was the principal officer's training school for the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course for officer candidates.


History and background

Established as the ''Heigakkō'' in 1868 in
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, the officer training school was renamed the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1874 and relocated to
Ichigaya is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Places in Ichigaya *Hosei University Ichigaya Campus *Chuo University Graduate School *Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense headquarters: Formerly Headqua ...
,
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. After 1898, the Academy came under the supervision of the Army Education Administration. In 1937 the Academy was divided, with the Senior Course Academy being relocated to Sagamihara in
Kanagawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, and the Junior Course School moved to
Asaka, Saitama file:Pond at JGSDF Camp Asaka.jpg, 260px, Pond at JGSDF Camp Asaka file:JGSDF Camp Asaka Shinbudai Kinenkan.jpg, 260px, former IJA Officer Preparatory School at JGSDF Camp Asaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , th ...
. The 50th graduation ceremony was held in the new Academy buildings in Sagamihara on 20 December 1937, and was attended by the Shōwa Emperor (
Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
) himself. In 1938, a separate school was established for
military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...
officers. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the school was highly respected and faculty consisted of many
Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
alumni. It also accepted a large number of students from China, and many of those cadets later had prominent ranks in the
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. In June 1945, as a precautionary measure due to Allied bombings, the Academy sent its entire staff and 3,000 students on a long-term bivouac in
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, leaving the installation under a light guard as caretakers. In September 1945, after the
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, a battalion of the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division took control of the Academy from the soldiers guarding it. The Academy was abolished along with the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of 1945, and its Sagamihara grounds are now part of the
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base of Camp Zama. Currently the corresponding institution for the modern
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is the National Defense Academy of Japan.


Curriculum

From 1937 to 1945, an estimated 18,476 cadets were trained at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. Candidates for the Imperial Japanese Army Academy were rigidly selected from graduates of 3-year courses at one of the military preparatory schools (''Rikugun Yonen Gakkō'') at Tokyo,
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
,
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,
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
,
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, and
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, and from other applicants with the proper physical and educational qualifications. The ''Rikugun Yonen Gakkō'' were schools mainly for officers' children and children of army soldiers who fell in action. Some candidates were enlisted men in active service under 25 years old; others were general applicants between ages 16 to 18 who passed an examination. The training curriculum included college-level general education courses, traditional
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
and horsemanship. After completing the two year junior portion of training at Asaka in Saitama, cadets were assigned for eight months to
infantry regiment Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
s to become familiar with Army weaponry and
platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
leadership skills before resuming studies in the 1-year, 8-month senior program at Sagamihara in Kanagawa. Upon graduation, cadets became apprentice officers with the grade of
sergeant-major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...
(but who were treated as officers), and after the successful completion of four months probation in their assigned regiments, were formally commissioned as second lieutenants.


See also

* Numazu Military Academy *
Army War College (Japan) The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo to modernize and Westernize the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including prime ministers during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates o ...
* Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy * Imperial Japanese Naval Academy * List of Graduates in Japanese Imperial Military Academies (1891–1934) *
Tokyo Boys The Tokyo Cadets or the Tokyo Boys, was the name given to the group of forty five youth recruits of the Indian National Army who were sent to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy to train as fighter pilo ...
* National Defense Academy of Japan


References

*


External links


recruitment & Training of the IJAHandbook on Japanese Military Forces, TM-E 30-480 (1945)
{{Authority control Imperial Japanese Army Academy, Military of the Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Army Defunct Japanese military academies