An Imperial Japanese Army Blog

Sometimes a small poignant glimmer connected to larger events from the past appears. In this case the Army Service Record Booklet of Mr. Hasebe of Sapporo makes him, by implication, a participant in an historic, if terrifying, event that occurred during the closing days of World War 2.    Pvt. 2 nd  Class Hasebe became active on June 25, 1945 in the  8 th  Independent Guard Unit, part of the Muroran Guard Unit, providing security to the  Muroran Iron and Steel Works  on Hokkaido. Less than a month later his unit was subjected to an intense 300 to 400 shell US naval bombardment. See quote and link below:  World War II Database ).  The 8 th  Independent Guard Unit was demobilized Sept 17, 1945 (Japan demobilization report).    Personal Information : Jurisdiction:  “ Tatsu ”  達 8150 (code for: 5 th  Area Army HQ) Unit Number:  “ Tatsu ”  達 12638 Butai (code for: 8 th  Independent Guard Unit)  Military Department: Infantry  Government Rank: Private 2 nd  Class  Specialty: (blank)  Permanen

Japanese army  field post office units  were responsible for handling all military mail and in addition the postal system functioned as a bank for deployed soldiers. Postal savings account booklets were used to maintain a record of deposits and withdrawals. The mail service was free for soldiers. As a rule, officers were allowed to send letters but enlisted men limited to postcards. Censorship rules were strictly enforced lest sensitive information fall into unfriendly hands.  Organization : This example shows authorized strengths for the  13 th  Field Post Office Unit  (presumably most field post office units were similar): Headquarters and Central Post Office: 55 soldiers and 10 civilian employees 1 st  to 4 th  Field Post Office Companies: 5 soldiers and 5 civilian employees each Total: 255 soldiers and 30 civilian employees. Note : All branch offices share the code name and number of the field post office unit they belong under.     Southern Expeditionary Army Field Post Office Uni

In the late 1930’s Japan’s Army General Staff created a set of counter intelligence measures. Armies, divisions, brigades and etc. became Heidan (Combat Group), Shudan (Group), Shitai (Detachment) or Butai (Unit), all vague designations avoiding any hint of unit composition or size. Further, the commander’s last name would identify his command (Kawaguchi Shitai, Ichiki Shitai, etc.), which later on created confusion in a number of ways.     From inception in 1940 the new system,  Tsūshōgō , was a vast improvement over the old. Also designed to obscure unit names, functions, locations and sizes in the field, it became as much a part of every army unit’s identity as its actual name. As the army mail system tracked locations for all deployed units,  Tsūshōgō  functioned as a mailing address for personnel in the field. It’s common to find a code name and number in place of a return address on a postcard home.    How it worked :  Code names were given to armies, divisions and brigades and n

This two-volume set is arranged as a geographic overview covering the entire Japanese army from 1940 to 1945. It includes details and maps for every army corps from the outer reaches of Empire to the length and breadth of the Japanese home islands. Divisions and brigades are listed separately with code numbers, authorized troop strengths and a history that includes activation dates and places, service details and deactivation dates and places.  Finally, for those interested in the Japanese Army's code name and number system, Tsushogo , Chapter 4 in each volume lists code numbers and the units they are associated with in numerical order, making searching easy. The books are available from Amazon in both paperback and eBook formats.   Title: The Imperial Japanese Army Volume 1, Japan, the Annexed Territories and Manchuria Author: Roderick S. Grigor Publisher: Paper Blossom Books Year: May 11, 2021 (Kindle print replica eBook) Language: English ASIN Code:  B094S4MK3L ISBN 978-1-777272