In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, the is a special
military official whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant (
chamberlain). From 1896 through to 1945, a small number of army and naval aides-de-camp were supplied to the Emperor due to his increased status and the risks to him during wartime.
Background
An excerpt from the :
[侍従武官ハ天皇ニ常侍奉仕シ軍事ニ関スル奏上奉答及命令ノ伝達ニ任シ観兵演習行幸其他祭儀礼典宴会謁見等ニ陪侍扈従ス]
:''Aides-de-camp to the Emperor will perform attendant duties and will relay to him military matters and orders, be present at military reviews
n his name
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
and accompanying him to formal ceremonies and interviews.
Both
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and , army ministers at the end of the war, are said to have contributed to the
Potsdam Declaration acceptance by means of their responsibilities to
Emperor Showa as the
grand chamberlain
A chamberlain (Medieval Latin: ''cambellanus'' or ''cambrerius'', with charge of treasury ''camerarius'') is a senior royal official in charge of managing a royal household. Historically, the chamberlain superintends the arrangement of domestic ...
and aide-de-camp to the Emperor in 1929 (Showa-4).
Moreover, to the Crown Prince, the Imperial Family, and the
mediatized Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
n royal family (, the former
Korean imperial family), aides-de-camp were also provided. The military officers serving the ''Oukouzoku'' wore silver
aiguillettes over their uniform.
List of aides-de-camp
Senior Aide-de-camp to the Emperor
See also
*
Chamberlain of Japan The is a department of the Imperial Household Agency of Japan.
History
According to Taihō Code around the 8th century, it was presupposed that a chamberlain belonged to the Ministry of the Center. When the was installed during the Heian era, ...
, a similar title without military duties
*
Imperial Household Agency
The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...
References
Japanese monarchy
{{Japan-mil-hist-stub