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This website is created to present and organize my research about the Rikukaigun – the Army and the Navy of the Japanese Empire during 1868-1945 period.

For now it's focused mainly on organizational questions, but not limited to them. Both my original research, translations and original documents will be posted here.

If you have questions, corrections, additions, feel free to contact me.

Introduction:

A short primer on the organization of the IJA and the IJN

Imperial Japanese Army and Navy organizations comparison

General map of East Asia and Pacific

SITE NEWS:

To thank first visitors of this website I've posted online pdf version of my book: "“Samurais” of the Japanese fleet. Destroyers of the “Matsu” and “Tachibana” classes" (published in 2013). The book is in Russian. You can read this book online or download it > click here.

20 October 2024 - Added three more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: Air Units 1 - Fleets, Flotillas , Air Units 2 - Named Kokutai (Air Groups) and Air Units 3 - Numbered Kokutai (Air Groups)

To be continued.

3 October 2024 - Added two more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 13-1 Auxiliaries and 13-2 Auxiliaries.

To be continued.

15 September 2024 - Added two more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 11 Landing ships and 12 Hulks (old warships), prewar warship losses .

To be continued.

03 August 2024 - Added two more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 9 Escorts (TB, PB, CD) and 10 Minecraft (ML, MS)

To be continued.

13 July 2024 - Added Map of IJA infantry regiments' garrisons in 1932 (in Japanese).

10 July 2024 - Updated IJN Technical Research Bureau data in: 7-1. Ministry of the Navy and subordinated organizations.

2 July 2024 - Japanese army life in 1914 (translated by Eugen Pinak) - the internal life and economy of Japanese army units, a lot of small details on the daily life of Japanese officers and soldiers in the barracks.

29 June 2024 - Another my translation from Japanese: Data on IJN personnel 1937-1945 period from the Japanese official history of WW II  (translated by Eugen Pinak).

26 June 2024 - Added five more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers, this time on IJN administrative, land combat, land support and land training units: 7-1. Ministry of the Navy and subordinated organizations , 7-2 Naval Districts, base forces, dockyards , 7-3 Guard forces & squadrons, SNLF, AA , 7-4 Construction, depots, hospitals, harbors, etc , 8 Naval Schools

Also slightly cleaned and corrected some previous parts.

To be continued.

11 June 2024 - Added three more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 5-3. 2nd class Destroyers, destroyer tenders, 6-1. 1st class Submarines and 6-2. 2nd and 3td class Submarines, submarine tenders

To be continued.

26 May 2024 - Added two more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 5-1. 1st class Destroyers - names staring from A to M and 5-2. 1st class Destroyers - names staring from N to Y

To be continued.

14 May 2024 - Added two more parts of Jeff Donahoo's data base on IJN officers: 3. Heavy cruisers and 4. Light cruisers, Armed merchant cruisers

To be continued.

7 May 2024 - As you can see, my website changed its name. And the reason for this is Jeff Donahoo from the USA. For the last 30 years he compiled the data on IJN officers’ careers. While researching officers’ careers he also gathered information on ships and naval units/organizations. And I am honored that he agreed to publish all this data on my website.

Due to the large amount of data the data base will be uploaded in parts. First I’ll post the data on officers of IJN ships, which served in the navy during the Pacific War of 1941-1945. So far I’ve uploaded two parts: 1. Aircraft carriers, seaplane carriers/tenders, converted seaplane tenders, and 2. Battleships.

To be continued.

20 April 2024 - added two capstone moral education documents of the Japanese military: the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors of 1882 and the IJA Field Service Code (Senjinkun) of 1941. Every Japanese soldier was expected to learn those two documents by heart and the Imperial Rescript was to be memorized by every IJA member (by contrast IJN required learning, not memorization, of the Imperial Rescript).

14 April 2024 - added 1943 USN intelligence report "Organization and rank in the Japanese Army And Navy Air Services". Despite its errors, is interesting period document, showing current US knowledge on Japanese Navy and Army air services.

9 April 2024 - added translation of the Japanese article "Regarding the organization of 244th Air Group" by Sakurai Takashi, which describes organization of the standard IJA Air Force fighter unit. Author's order of battle drawings are translated and remade as well.

7 April 2024 - added OOB and table of tactical organization of IJN standard one-battalion Special Naval Landing Force of the Naval District (1938).

31 March 2024 - added data tables on IJA supplies during the Pacific War from the United States Strategic Bombing Survey Report No.64 “The Effect of Air Action on Japanese Ground Army Logistics” (1947),

and general organization scheme of the type "C" infantry regiment (August 1943).

15 February 2024 - added general map of East Asia and Pacific for better overall orientation in the enormous Asia-Pacific area, where Japanese military operated.

IJA updates:

List of the IJA divisions and divisional-sized formations, that existed in the IJA.

Man-hours required to produce one unit of weapons in Japanese Army Kokura Arsenal - I've already posted some weapons' prices, now man-hours to produce some of them.

4 January 2024 - website went online.

Besides the information about the author the following materials are posted:

A short primer on the organization of the IJA and the IJN

Imperial Japanese Army and Navy organizations comparison

Links to the web sites with useful information on the Imperial Japanese military

Japanese language and other reference resources

Japanese calendar systems and Methods of designating weapons and equipment

List of Japanese military abbreviations

List of the IJA general armies, area armies, armies and corps - list of all corps-level and above formations, that existed in the IJA.

Japanese Army order of battle before the Manchurian Incident - IJA order of battle as for 1 January 1931.

Organization and armament of the type "C" infantry regiment (August 1943) - organization and equipment from original TOEs, as laid out in the Mobilization plan for 1944.

IJA rank names 1937-1945 - description of the changes in the IJA rank system and the table of all the rank names by the end of the Pacific War.

Prices of the IJA weapons - various prices of weapons and equipment.

List of the IJN general fleets, area fleets and fleets - list of all fleet-level and above formations, that existed in the IJN.

IJN rank names 1942-1945 - description of the changes in the IJN rank system and the table of all the rank names by the end of the Pacific War.

Prices of the IJN weapons - various prices of weapons and equipment.

Data on IJN pilots and planes - data on the availability of pilots and planes of the IJN Air Force 1941-1945 period from the Japanese official history of WW II (translated by Eugen Pinak).

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