Inspectorate General of Military Training

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

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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

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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

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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

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  • 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.
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