Rikugun Shikan Gakko
Encyclopedia
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. The program 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 for officer candidates.
History and background
Established as the Heigakkō in 1868 in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, the officer training school was renamed the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1874 and relocated to Ichigaya
Ichigaya
Ichigaya is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.-Places in Ichigaya:*Hosei University Ichigaya Campus*Chuo University Graduate School...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. After 1898, Academy came under the supervision of the Army Education Administration.
In 1937, the Academy was divided, with the Senior Course Academy was relocated to Sagamihara
Sagamihara, Kanagawa
is a city located in north central Kanagawa Prefecture, bordering Tokyo, Japan. It is the third most populous city in the prefecture, after Yokohama and Kawasaki, and the fifth most populous suburb of Greater Tokyo. Its northern neighbor is Machida, with which a cross-prefectural merger has been...
in Kanagawa prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, and the Junior Course School moved to Asaka, Saitama
Asaka, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It was named in 1932 after Prince Asaka who was an honorary chairman of the Tokyo Golf Club, which relocated to the area at that time. Asaka town became a city on March 15, 1967....
. The 50th graduation ceremony was held in the new Academy buildings in Sagamihara on 20 December 1937, and was attended by Emperor Hirohito. In 1938, a separate school was established for military aviation
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
officers.
In June 1945, as a precautionary measure due to Allied bombings
Air raids on Japan
During World War II the Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan which caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed over 300,000 people. These attacks began with the Doolittle Raid in mid-April 1942, but did not resume until June 1944 when United States Army Air Forces ...
the academy sent its entire staff and 3,000 students on a long-term bivouac in Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
, leaving the installation under a light guard as caretakers.
In September 1945, after the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
at the end World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a battalion of the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division took control of the Academy from the Japanese soldiers guarding it. The Academy was abolished along with the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of 1945, and its Sagamihara grounds are now part of United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base of Camp Zama
Camp Zama
is a United States Army post located in the cities of Zama and Sagamihara, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about southwest of Tokyo.Camp Zama is home to the U.S. Army Japan /I Corps , the U.S. Army Japan Aviation Detachment "Ninjas" , the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, the Japan Engineer...
.
Currently the corresponding institution for the modern Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force is the Japan National Defense Academy.
Curriculum
From 1937 to 1945, an estimated 18,476 cadets were trained at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy.Candidates for the Imperial Japanese Army Academy were rigidly selected from graduates of 3-year courses at one of the military preparatory school (Rikugun Yonen Gakkō) at Tokyo, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Nagoya, Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, Sendai, and Kumamoto, and from other applicants with the proper physical and educational qualifications. The Rikugun Yonen Gakkō were schools mainly for officers' children and children of army soldiers who fell in action. Some candidates were enlisted men in active service under 25 years old; others were general applicants between ages 16 to 18 who passed an examination.
The training curriculum included college-level general education courses, traditional martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and horsemanship. After completing the two year junior portion of training at Asaka in Saitama, cadets were assigned for eight months to infantry regiments to become familiar with Army weaponry and platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
leadership skills before resuming studies in the 1-year, 8-month senior program at Sagamihara in Kanagawa. Upon graduation, cadets became apprentice officers with the grade of sergeant-major (but who were treated as officers), and after the successful completion of four months probation in their assigned regiments, were formally commissioned as second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
s.
The school during World War II was highly respected consists of many Tokyo Imperial University alumni. It also accepted a large number of students from China. Many cadets had prominent ranks in the Republic of China armed forces.
See also
- Army War College (Japan)Army War College (Japan)The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo to modernize and Westernize the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including prime ministers during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates of the college....
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Force AcademyImperial Japanese Army Air Force AcademyThe was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.-Superintendents:*Major General Hayashi Kinoshita：October 1 1937*Major General Shozo Teraguchi：July 1 1939*Lieutenant General Hayashi Kinoshita：September 15 1941...
- Imperial Japanese Naval AcademyImperial Japanese Naval AcademyThe was a school established to train officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888...
- List of Graduates in Japanese Imperial Military Academies (1891-1934)
- Tokyo BoysTokyo BoysThe Tokyo Cadets or the Tokyo Boys, was the name given to the group of forty five youth recruits of the Indian National Army who were sent to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy to train as fighter pilots in 1944 by Subhas Chandra Bose...