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 Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the , a quasi-independent elite branch of 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 Emper ...

which was dissolved shortly after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The second is the , a civilian law enforcement organization formed as part of the National Police Agency.（警察庁）

Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Guard of the

was formed in 1867. It became the foundation of the

after the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Meiji assumed all the powers of state during the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. The Imperial Guard, which consisted of 12,000 men organized and trained along French military lines, first saw action in the Satsuma Rebellion. It was organized into the 1st Guards Infantry Brigade which had the 1st and 2nd Regiments. The 3rd and 4th Regiments belonged to the 2nd Guards Infantry

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

. By 1885 the Imperial Japanese Army consisted of seven divisions, one of which was the Imperial Guard. A division consisted of four regiments containing an HQ and two battalions each. The Imperial Guard division was based in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and was recruited on national lines, officers were also drawn nationally. After the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

in 1905, a second Guard Brigade was formed from indigenous Formosans. In 1920 the Guards Cavalry Regiment, Guards Field Artillery Regiment, Guards Engineer Battalion, and Guards Transport Battalion, plus other Guards service units were raised, adding to the overall ORBAT of the force. From 1937 to 1939 the Guards Engineer Battalion was expanded into a regiment as was the Guards Transport Battalion.

Pacific War

In September 1939, the division was split into the 1st and 2nd Guards Brigades. The 1st Guards Brigade, which contained the 1st and 2nd Guards Infantry Regiments, the cavalry regiment, and half of the support units, was transferred to

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

. Here it became known as the Mixed Guards Brigade. In October 1940, it joined other Japanese units occupying French Indo-China. In April 1941 the Mixed Guards Brigade returned to Tokyo but it did not rejoin the Imperial Guards Division. The 2nd Guards Brigade, which contained 3rd and 4th Guards Regiments, also went to China. In 1940, it went to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

before being posted to

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

Island. In June 1941, the 5th Guards Infantry Regiment joined the 2nd Guards Brigade becoming the Imperial Guard Division again. It later saw action in the Battles of Malaya and

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 ...

with

Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese officer and convicted war criminal, who was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore, with his accomplishment of conquerin ...

's 25th Army. In May 1943, all designated Imperial Guard units were renamed again. The Mixed Guards Brigade in

became the 1st Guards Division (which now consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 6th Guard Regiments) and the Imperial Guard Division became the 2nd Guards Division. The 3rd Guards Division, which never left Japan, was formed in 1944. It consisted of the 8th, 9th and 10th Guards Regiments. Sources do not agree if there ever was a 7th Guard Regiment. All military Imperial Guard Divisions were dissolved at the end of

War crimes

In Malaya and

, the Guard Division was involved in several notorious

Japanese war crimes The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have been described as an "Asian Holocaust". Som ...

such as the Parit Sulong Massacre and the Sook Ching massacre. Lt Gen. Takuma Nishimura, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a British military court in relation to the Sook Ching killings, was later convicted of war crimes by an Australian Military Court in relation to the Parit Sulong massacre. He was executed by hanging on June 11, 1951.

Organization

* 1st Guards Division (近衛第1師団, Konoe Dai-ichi Shidan) * 2nd Guards Division (近衛第2師団, Konoe Dai-ni Shidan) * 3rd Guards Division (近衛第3師団, Konoe Dai-san Shidan)

Uniform

Until 1939, the Cavalry of the Imperial Guard wore a French style parade uniform consisting of a dark-blue

tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Ro ...

with red Brandenburg braiding, a red kepi and red breeches. The red kepi had a white plume with a red base. Prior to the general adoption of khaki by the Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), an all white

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

uniform had been worn in hot weather. The Infantry of the Imperial Guard wore a dark blue uniform with white leggings for both parade and service wear until 1905. It was distinguished from that of the line infantry by a red band and piping on the peaked service cap (instead of yellow). Officers wore a dark blue tunic with 5 rows of black mohair froggings and dark blue breeches with a red stripe down each seam. Following the adoption of a khaki service dress, the Guard Infantry wore this on all occasions, although officers retained the blue and red uniform for certain ceremonial occasions when not parading with troops. In the field, the army's standard khaki uniform was worn by all Imperial Guard units from 1905 to 1945. Guard units were distinguished by a wreathed star in bronze worn on the headgear, in contrast to the plain five pointed star worn by other units.

Gallery

File:National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo01s5s2970.jpg , Original headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Guard, now part of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. File:Battle of Shaho.jpg, An

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ta ...

print of the Imperial Guard driving back Russian infantry at the

Battle of Shaho The Battle of Shaho ( ja, 沙河会戦 (''Saka no kaisen''), russian: Сражение на реке Шахе) was the second large-scale land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Shaho River along the Mukden– P ...

during the

in 1904 File:Hirohito_wedding.jpg, Mounted Imperial Guards wearing the dark blue dress uniform during Emperor

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's wedding in 1924

Imperial Guard of the National Police Agency

After the disbandment of the Imperial guard divisions, their missions were merged into the , a civilian law enforcement branch of the Ministry of the Imperial Household. In 1947, it was reorganized into the of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and then transferred to the . After several renaming, it became the in 1949. With the total reconstruction of the Japanese police systems in 1954, it became a part of the National Police Agency. At present, it consists of over 900

security police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...

personnel who provide personal security for the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

and other members of the Imperial Family, as well as protection of imperial properties, including the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Kyoto Imperial Palace,

Katsura Imperial Villa The , or Katsura Detached Palace, is an Imperial residence with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Located on the western bank of the Katsura River in Katsura, Nishikyō-ku, the Villa is 8km distant fro ...

, Shugakuin Imperial Villa (both in Kyoto), Shosoin Imperial Repository in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, as well as

Hayama Imperial Villa , located in the town of Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan is a residence owned by the Japanese Imperial Family, and used on infrequent intervals as an informal winter retreat. History The Imperial Family of Japan previously had residences in ...

and

Nasu Imperial Villa Nasu Imperial Villa, located in the town of Nasu, Nasu District in Tochigi Prefecture, is a retreat used by the Japanese Imperial Family. The structure dates to 1926, a further addition came in 1935. The Imperial Family normally stays in the vi ...

. The Imperial Guard also maintains a 14 horse

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in t ...

unit for use by guards of honour at state ceremonies. In addition to their security duties, the Imperial Guard is also responsible for

fire-fighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

within the grounds of the Palace, and maintains

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to a ...

s and trained staff of this purpose. The NPA Imperial Guards wear a dark blue or a blue-grey police uniform with white gloves while on duty with peaked caps for public duties activities. They also wear white pistol belts, lanyards, helmets, boot laces or leggings. They carry police rank insignia in their shoulder boards.

Gallery

File:Imperial Guard Headquarters Government Buildings.jpg, Imperial Guard Headquarters File:Japanese Imperial Guard Music Band in 1950s.jpg, An Imperial Guard Music Band marching through

in the 1950s. File:Japanese Imperial Guard mounted police officers in 1950s.jpg, Mounted Imperial Guard police officers in the 1950s. File:Presentation of Credentials 07.JPG, Mounted Imperial Guards during a presentation of credentials ceremony in Tokyo. File:Imperial Guard sentry.jpg, An Imperial Guard sentry at the Seimon Ishibashi bridge outside the Imperial Palace. File:Imperial Guard.jpg, Modern Imperial Guards at the Imperial Palace in

File:Japanese Imperial Guard car.JPG, Imperial Guards in a patrol car within the gardens of the Imperial Palace in

File:Tokubetsu-keibi-tai of the Japanese Imperial Guard.jpg, of the Imperial Guard Headquarters

References

* Madej, W. Victor, Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 volsAllentown, PA: 1981

External links

Official NPA IG page
{{JapanEmpireNavbox Former guards regiments Guards Divisions of Japan Police units of the National Police Agency (Japan) Military history of Japan Military units and formations established in 1867 Military units and formations of the Imperial Japanese Army Royal guards

Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army

Pacific War

War crimes

Organization

Uniform

Gallery

Imperial Guard of the National Police Agency

Gallery

See also

References

External links