Hayao Kinugasa (February 2, 1915 – February 11, 2007記念日・年中行事.
) served 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 ...

and was one of the few ex-Imperial Army officers who joined up with the

Japanese Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

(JGSDF) and its predecessor force, namely the

National Police Reserve The , or NPR, was a lightly armed national police force established in August 1950 during the Allied occupation of Japan. In October 1952, it was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed as the . On July 1, 1954, it was reorganized as the Japan Ground ...

(NPR). In the course of his career, he served in the JSDF's Joint Staff Council and was the first commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade before he retired to private life.

History

Born on February 2, 1915, in

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, he attended the Army's military academy in Narashino in 1936 before graduating in 1941. In 1942, Hayao was an instructor in 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 ...

. He was then promoted to Major in 1943 and was later assigned to the

Imperial General Headquarters The was part of the Supreme War Council and was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equivalent to the United States ...

from 1944 to 1945. After the dissolution of the

with the rest of the Imperial Military, Hayao joined up with the NPR in 1951. In 1954, he was instrumental in the eventual formation of the 1st Airborne Brigade and continued to enhance the brigade until 1955. In 1957, he was made captain of this brigade and was eventually made the unit's first commanding officer in 1958. Later, Hayao was assigned to the JSDF's Ground Staff office from 1959-1960. He was then appointed as an instructor in the JGSDF's Aviation School and was an infantry commander of the JGSDF's 3rd Infantry Division in the JGSDF's Middle Army. In 1969, he was made Vice Chief of Staff before appointed as the 9th Chief of Staff after his predecessor resigned due to

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Nationalism, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was ...

's actions after invading the former Defense Agency in 1970. In 1971, Hayao was appointed as the 9th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before retiring to private life in 1973.

Private life

In 1985, Hayao was awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasures The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest t ...

for his services in the

. After living years of obscurity in Japanese society, he eventually died on February 11, 2007 of heart failure. He was 91 years old.衣笠駿雄氏死去／元防衛庁統合幕僚会議議長.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinugasa, Hayao Chiefs of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Imperial Japanese Army officers 1915 births 2007 deaths Military personnel from Hyōgo Prefecture Japanese military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class