, formal rank designations: was the highest title in the pre-war Imperial Japanese military. The title originated from the Chinese title ''

yuanshuai () was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a marshal in other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of '' Dayuanshuai'' (), which corresponds to ''generalis ...

'' (元帥). The term ''gensui'', which was used for both 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 the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

, was at first a rank held by

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

as the Commander of the Armies (陸軍元帥 Rikugun-gensui) in 1872. However, in May 1873 Saigō was "demoted" to general, with ''gensui'' thereafter no longer a rank as such, but a largely honorific title awarded for extremely meritorious service to the

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

- thus similar in concept to the French title of

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

. Equivalent to a

five-star rank A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

(OF-10), it is similar to Field Marshal in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and General of the Army in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. While ''gensui'' would retain their actual ranks of general or admiral, they were entitled to wear an additional enamelled breast badge, depicting

paulownia ''Paulownia'' ( ) is a genus of seven to 17 species of hardwood tree (depending on taxonomic authority) in the family Paulowniaceae, the order Lamiales. They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivat ...

leaves between crossed army

colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

and a

naval ensign A naval ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign. It can also be known as a war ensign. A large ve ...

under the

Imperial Seal of Japan The Imperial Seal of Japan or National Seal of Japan, also called the , or , is one of the national seals and a crest ('' mon'') used by the Emperor of Japan and members of the Imperial Family. It is a contrast to the Paulownia Seal used by the ...

. They were also entitled to wear a special samurai sword (''katana'') of a modern design on ceremonial occasions. In the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the title was awarded to five generals and three admirals. In the Taishō period it was awarded to six generals and six admirals, and in the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

it was awarded to six generals and four admirals. The higher title of '' dai-gensui'' was comparable to the title of ''

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

'' and was held only by the Emperor himself.

List of ''Rikugun-gensui''

Note that several were promoted the same year they died; these were posthumous promotions. The title was also bestowed on King George V of the United Kingdom on October 29, 1918.

References

{{reflist * * Military ranks of Japan

List of ''Rikugun-gensui''

See also

References