was an officer in the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and later a
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the post-war
Japan Ground Self Defense Force
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...
.
Biography
A native of
Hyōgo prefecture, Fujiwara graduated from the 43rd class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. 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 f ...
in 1931 and was assigned to the IJA 37th Infantry Regiment. After serving a tour of duty in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
,
China, he returned to the
Army Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For exa ...
and graduated from the 50th class in 1938, whereupon he was assigned to the
IJA 21st Army.
In 1939, Fujiwara was transferred to the
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
unit within the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.
Role
The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...
, tasked with planning operations in south and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. He traveled to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
in 1941, and joined the Japanese
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
''Nanpō gun''
, image = 1938 terauchi hisaichi.jpg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = Japanese General Count Terauchi Hisaichi, right, commanding officer of the Southern Expedition ...
as
Chief of Staff the same year. In 1941 Fujiwara established the
F Kikan
was a military intelligence operation established by the IGHQ in September 1941. The Unit was transferred to Bangkok at the end of that month and headed by Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, chief of intelligence of the 15th army. Its task was to contact ...
, a Japanese special operations unit, which was tasked with developing and assisting independence movements in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
,
Malaya and
Netherlands East Indies. In 1943, Fujiwara and his unit were transferred to the
IJA 15th Army. F-Kikan greatly assisted in the establishment of the
Indian National Army.
Knowing of the long struggle of the Dutch to subdue
Aceh province in northern
Sumatra, and the ongoing resistance of the Acehnese period against Dutch rule, Fujiwara was ordered to make contact with the Aceh independence movements preparatory to the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands Indies. One of his first contacts was
Sahid Abu Bakar, a religious teacher who lived in
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
, who assisted him in recruiting a small organization to gather military intelligence, secure supplies, spread pro-Japanese propaganda, and to hinder Dutch efforts to sabotage local infrastructure. He also made contact with
PUSA
''Pusa'' is a genus of the earless seals, within the family Phocidae. The three species of this genus were split from the genus ''Phoca'', and some sources still give ''Phoca'' as an acceptable synonym for ''Pusa''.
The three species in this ...
, the Islamic nationalist organization in Aceh, to start an armed rebellion. On the night of 11 March 1942, F-Kikan operatives and PUSA irregulars captured the Aceh capital of
Banda Aceh. Thus, when the
Japanese Imperial Guard Division landed the following morning, the city was already in Japanese hands.
[Axis History Forum](_blank)
/ref>
Fujiwara subsequently served as Intelligence Officer on the staff of Fifteenth Army in Burma. He reconnoitered much of the northern part of the country in preparation for Operation U-Go
The U Go offensive, or Operation C (ウ号作戦 ''U Gō sakusen''), was the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills (then administered as part ...
, the offensive into British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Following the failure of this offensive, almost all the staff of Fifteenth Army were transferred, although Fujiwara was the last to be reassigned, in December 1944.[Louis Allen, ''Burma: The Longest War'', p. 386]
After his recall to Japan, Fujiwara taught at the Army Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For exa ...
for a year, and was then transferred back to the field as Chief of Staff of the IJA 2nd Army in April 1945 and IJA 57th Army in June 1945. He was based in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
at the end of the war.
Fujiwara was one of the few officers of the Imperial Japanese Army to make the transition to the postwar Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...
, commanding the Home Defense Force in 1955, and the 1st District Corps -Tokyo (predecessor of 1st Division) in 1956, before his retirement as lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 1964.
Later in life, Fujiwara authored the book ''F. Kikan: Japanese Army Intelligence Operations in Southeast Asia during World War II,'' in which he described himself as the “Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...
of Southeast Asia”.
In popular culture
In the Amazon Prime Video Original Series ''The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye
''The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye'' is a streaming television series which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 24 January 2020. The series is directed by Kabir Khan, and is based on true events about the men and women in the Japanese coll ...
'', Iwaichi Fujiwara is portrayed by a London-based Japanese actor Junichi Kajioka
is a Japanese actor and producer.
Career
Junichi Kajioka started his acting career in 1988 in Tokyo, Japan. He mainly acted in TV dramas, but also performed in the theatre and in musicals. In 1995, he decided to go to Beijing, China, and stud ...
. In the Malaysian 2000 film '' Leftenan Adnan'' Fujiwara is portrayed by Farid Amirul.
References
Books
*
*
*
Footnotes
External links
Indonesian Volunteers in the Japanese Army
(Book Review)
F. Kikan: Japanese Intelligence Operations in Southeast Asia during World War II. Review author: Edward J. Drea. in ''Military Affairs'', Vol. 49, No. 4. (Oct., 1985), p. 220.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara, Iwaichi
1908 births
1986 deaths
Military personnel from Hyōgo Prefecture
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force generals
World War II spies for Japan
Indian National Army
Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II
Military history of Malaya during World War II