The Japanese Imperial Guard (近衛師団 このえしだん Konoe Shidan) protects the Emperor, the Empress and Imperial Family, the Imperial Palaces and other imperial properties.

The Imperial Guard of the Army

The Imperial Guard of Japan was formed in 1867 from palace guard units and became part of the Imperial Japanese Army when the Emperor Meiji assumed all the powers of the state and formed an army based on European lines during the Meiji Restoration. It saw action in the Satsuma Rebellion. This army consisted of 12,000 men originally organized and trained along French lines, but was retrained and organized by German officers after the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War. By 1885 the Imperial Japanese Army consisted of seven divisions, one of which was the Imperial Guard, with each division consisted of four regiments of two battalions each. The Imperial Guard was based on the Prussian Garde du Korps so it recruited nationally for duty in Tokyo. It stayed at one division until 1905 when, after the Russo-Japanese War, two Guard Brigades were formed from Formosans. Formosa, was known, even then, as a place of headhunters. Japan had defeated these headhunters after bloody fighting on both sides. The Guard stayed at one division until World War II when a total force of three divisions was realized. Two (2nd and 3rd) of the Guard divisions saw combat in China and Manchuria while one (the 1st) was always stationed in Tokyo. The IJA Imperial Guard was dissolved at the end of World War II and was reformed in 1947 as part of the National Police Agency, which itself is part of the National Public Safety Commission. The Imperial Japanese Army ((: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇 tennō) is a constitutionally-recognized symbol of the Japanese nation and the unity of its people. ... See: Meiji Restoration, the revolution that ushered in the Meiji Era Meiji Era - the period in Japanese history when the Meiji Emperor reigned Emperor Meiji of Japan - Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor, who reigned during Meiji Era Meiji University - University in Tokyo. ... The Meiji Restoration (Japanese: 明治維新, Meiji-ishin), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to a change in Japans political and social structure. ... The Satsuma Rebellion (Seinan Sensō 西南戦争, Southwestern War) was a revolt of the Satsuma clan samurai against the Imperial Japanese Army. ... The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. ... The Imperial Guard (French:Garde Impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... The Garde du Corps was the personal bodyguard of the Prussian king and later the German emperor. ... View of Tokyos Shibuya district Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace. ... Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east but gradually changes to gently sloping plains in the west. ... // A headhunter was a person who killed another and then took the others head. ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... View of Tokyos Shibuya district Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace. ... The National Police Agency (警察庁 Keisatsucho) is the central coordinating body of the Japanese police system. ... The National Public Safety Commission (国家公安委員会) is the organization, consisting of about five committees and answering to the cabinet of the Japanese government, which oversees national security in Japan. ...

The Imperial Guard in the Second World War

In September 1939, the division split. The 1st Guards Brigade was transferred to South China and became known as the Guards Mixed Brigade. It took with it the 1st and 2nd Guards Infantry Regiments, the cavalry regiment, and about half of the support units. In October 1940, it joined other Japanese units occupying French Indo-China. In April 1941 it returned to Tokyo, but did not re-join the division.

The remainder of the division (3rd and 4th Guards Regiments) became the 2nd Guards Brigade. In 1940 it went to China as well, stopping in Shanghai before receiving a posting to Hainan Island. In June 1941, the 5th Guards Infantry Regiment joined it there and the brigade became the Imperial Guard Division again. It later saw action in the Battles of Malaya and Singapore with Tomoyuki Yamashita's 25th Army. During the early morning hours of December 7th/8th, 1941, before the first bombs started falling on the United States Pacific base at Pearl Harbor (time zone differences), World War Two widened in the Pacific with the Battle for Malaya - the Japanase invasion of the British Malaya. ... Tomoyuki Yamashita General Tomoyuki Yamashita (山下 奉文 Yamashita Tomoyuki) (November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946) was a general of the Japanese Army during the WWII era. ...

The Guards Mixed Brigade remained in Tokyo, becoming 1st Guards Division in June 1943 while the Imperial Guard Division became 2nd Guards Division. The 1st Guards Division consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 6th Guards Regiments.

The 3rd Guards Division was formed in 1944 from the 8th, 9th and 10th Guards Regiments and saw combat in China.

The 7th Guards Regiment remained an independent unit.

Guards Uniforms

The Guard wore a French style uniform constisting of a dark-blue double breasted tunic with a red kepi and red breeches. The red kepi had a white plume with a red base. Off duty, a dark blue tunic with 5 rows of black mohair ropings or froggings with dark blue breeches with a red stripe down each seam, were worn. During the summer an all white linen uniform was worn. In the field the army's basic uniform was worn. It was worn with either a crysanthemum or a star in a wreath. Tupa Inca tunic The tunic was the common masculine garment of Roman civilization. ... French Kepis. ... Breeches as worn in America in the latter 18th century: Elijah Boardman by Ralph Earl, 1789. ... Plume may refer to any of the following: A geologic process associated with upwelling rock, see mantle plume. ... Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax (and historically, cannabis) plant. ... Species - tricolor daisy C. cinerariifolium - pyrethrum - pyrethum daisy - crown daisy - marguerite - daisy - florists           chrysanthemum C. segetum - corndaisy Ref: ITIS 35791 The chrysanthemum, also known as the mum, is a flowering perennial plant of the genus Chrysanthemum in the daisy family (Asteraceae). ...

National Police Agency Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard was reconstituted as part of the National Police Agency of Japan in 1947. It consists of over 900 security police personnel who provide security and protection to the Emperor and Imperial Palace, and also provides guards of honour at state ceremonies. The Imperial Guard maintains three departments: IG Police Administration, IG Security, and IG Escort. The IG also maintains a 14 horse IG Mounted Unit. The National Police Agency (警察庁 Keisatsucho) is the central coordinating body of the Japanese police system. ... Security police (also known as special police) are the special security officers employed by (usually governmental) organizations to protect their facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and who enforce laws and administrative regulations. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace. ...

See also

• Imperial Guard
• Manchukuo Imperial Guards
• Imperial Japanese Army