The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

was the . It was created 4 April 1944 in

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...

, simultaneously with the 44th and 86th divisions. It was a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade head ...

. The men of the division were drafted through

mobilization district, although the divisional backbone was the 51st division headquarters.

Action

The ''81st division'' was assigned to the 36th army 21 July 1944. Because the troops were engaged in farming for self-sustenance, and of the pronunciation of the divisional call sign, the ''81st division'' was also jokingly called "Agricultural division". The division spent the time until the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

15 August 1945 building fortifications around

Yūki, Ibaraki 270px, Yuki Information and Communication Center is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,282 in 19,353 households and a population density of 765 persons per km2. The percentage of the popula ...

and did not engage in actual combat.

References and further reading

* List of Japanese Infantry Divisions * Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 This article incorporates material from the article 第81師団 (日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 20 June 2016. Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1944 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan {{mil-unit-stub