Gensui

The Gensui Tōgō Heihachirō , Oku Yasutaka , Inoue Yoshika and Kawamura Kageaki at the ceremony for the unveiling of the bronze statue in honor of Gensui Ōyama Iwao , 1917

Gensui ( Japanese 元帥 ) was an honorary title for members of the army in the general rank of the Empire of Japan .

The title is translated as Field Marshal General for members of the Imperial Japanese Army and Grand Admiral or Fleet Admiral ( fleet admiral in English ) for those of the Imperial Japanese Navy .

history

1871-1873

August 1871 the two officer titles Dai-Gensui ( 大元帥 , German "Groß-Gensui") and Gensui were introduced, whereby the Dai-Gensui was the leader of the army and the navy and Gensui leader of the army. A short time later this was corrected or specified to the effect that Dai-Gensui is the honorary title of the emperor as commander of both armed forces in the case of a personally led campaign and Gensui that of the crown prince or comparable minister.

Certificate of appointment of Saigō Takamori as Gensui

On July 20, 1872, Yamagata Aritomo had to resign as commander of the Imperial Palace Guard ( 近衛都督 , konoe totoku ) due to the Yamashiroya embezzlement scandal ( 山城屋事件 , Yamashiroya-jiken ) . Then Saigō Takamori took over the office and received the title Rikugun Gensui ( 陸軍元帥 , German "Army Gensui"), which roughly corresponds to the post of Army Minister. However, there was also the regular post of Minister of the Army ( 陸軍卿 , Rikugun-kyō ) in the cabinet, so that both systems ran parallel, with the addition that Saigō received the title Rikugun Gensui from the Grand Chancellor ( Daijō Daijin ) Sanjō Sanetomi , but not it was determined that he was also subject to this.

In order to establish a clear chain of command, both titles were therefore abolished on May 8, 1873. However, the name Dai-Gensui was still used in this form for the Tennō in his position as commander-in-chief.

1898-1945

On January 20, 1898, an imperial edict establishing the Gensui-fu ( 元帥府 ) was issued. In addition to the Supreme Military Council ( 軍事参議院 , gunji sangiin ), founded later in 1903, it was one of the two bodies that advised the Tennō in military matters. The members of this council, who were exclusively generals ( 陸軍大将 , rikugun taishō ) and admirals ( 海軍大将 , kaigun taishō ), were given the honorary title of Gensui, which was placed before their rank. The title was awarded to a total of 17 generals and 13 admirals, also posthumously.

The term Gensui Rikugun Taishō is usually translated as General Field Marshal or Field Marshal and Gensui Kaigun Taishō as Grand Admiral or based on the US designation as a Fleet Admiral .

Emblem and sword

Gensui emblem

The Gensui from 1898 on wore a special emblem on the front of the uniform, as well as a special sword, in addition to their insignia of rank.

The Gensui emblem ( 元帥徽章 , gensui kishō ) showed a chrysanthemum flower - the imperial seal - followed by a paulownia flower - the prime minister's coat of arms - with a rising sun - the symbol of the war flag - on either side.

The blade of the Gensui sword ( 元帥刀 , gensui-tō ) imitates the Kogarasu-maru , which is said to have been forged by Amakuni in the 8th century , and the ornaments a Kenuki-gata- Tachi ( 毛抜型太刀 ), as it was during used by the palace guard ( 衛府 , E-fu ) in ancient times . On the sheath there are lacquer work with the chrysanthemum blossom.

carrier

image	Surname	Kanji	Life dates	Term of office
	Saigō Takamori	西郷隆盛	1828-1877	July 20, 1872 - May 8, 1873

army

carrier
Surname	Kanji	Life dates	Award
Prince Komatsu Akihito	小松宮彰仁親王	1846-1903	Jan. 20, 1898
Yamagata Aritomo	山県有朋	1838-1922	Jan. 20, 1898
Ōyama Iwao	大山厳	1842-1916	Jan. 20, 1898
Nozu Michitsura	野津道貫	1840-1908	Jan. 31, 1906
Oku Yasukata	奥保鞏	1847-1930	Oct. 24, 1911
Hasegawa Yoshimichi	長谷川好道	1850-1924	Jan. 9, 1913
Prince Fushimi Sadanaru	伏見宮貞愛親王	1858-1923	Jan. 9, 1913
Kawamura Kageaki	川村景明	1850-1926	Jan. 9, 1913
Terauchi Masatake	寺内正毅	1852-1919	June 24, 1916
Kan'in Kotohito	閑院宮載仁親王	1865-1945	December 12, 1919
Uehara Yūsaku	上原勇作	1856-1933	Apr. 27, 1921
Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi	久邇宮邦彦王	1873-1929	Jan. 27, 1929 ( posthumously )
Prince Nashimoto Morimasa	梨本宮守正王	1874-1951	Aug 8, 1932
Mutō Nobuyoshi	武藤信義	1868-1933	May 3, 1933
Terauchi Hisaichi	寺内寿一	1879-1946	June 21, 1943
Sugiyama Hajime	杉山元	1880-1945	June 21, 1943
Hata Shunroku	畑俊六	1879-1962	June 2, 1944

marine

carrier
Surname	Kanji	Life dates	Award
Saigō Jūdō / Tsugumichi	西郷従道 / 西郷從道	1843-1902	Jan. 20, 1898
Itō Sukeyuki	伊東祐亨	1843-1914	Jan. 31, 1906
Inoue Yoshika	井上良馨	1845-1929	Oct. 31, 1911
Tōgō Heihachirō	東郷平八郎	1848-1934	Apr 21, 1913
Prince Arisugawa Takehito	有栖川宮威仁親王	1862-1913	July 7, 1913 ( posthumous )
Ijūin Gorō	伊集院五郎	1852-1921	May 26, 1917
Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito	東伏見宮依仁親王	1867-1922	June 27, 1922 (posthumously)
Shimamura Hayao	島村速雄	1858-1923	Jan. 8, 1923 (posthumously)
Katō Tomosaburō	加藤友三郎	1861-1923	24 Aug 1923 (posthumous)
Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu	伏見宮博恭王	1875-1946	May 27, 1932
Yamamoto Isoroku	山本五十六	1884-1943	Apr. 18, 1943 (posthumous)
Nagano Osami	永野修身	1880-1947	June 21, 1943
Koga Mineichi	古賀峯一	1885-1944	March 31, 1944 (posthumous)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Yasumichi Teramura: 明治国家の政軍関係 - 政治的理念と政軍関係 ( Eng . "Civil-Military Relations in Meiji State. Political Principles and Civil-Military Relations") . In: Ritsumeikan University (ed.): 政策科学 (German "Political Science") . tape 10 , no. 1 , October 2002, ISSN 0919-4851 , p. 73–84 ( online full text [PDF; 80 kB ]).

↑ 詔書 (明治 31 年) (Eng. "Imperial Edicts 1898"). (No longer available online.) In: 中野文庫 / The Nakano Library. Archived from the original on October 23, 2004 ; Retrieved September 13, 2009 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Maison franco-japonaise de Tokyo (ed.): Dictionnaire historique du Japon . Tome 1. Maisonneuve & Larose, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-7068-1632-5 , pp. 727 (French, limited preview in Google Book search).

↑ 元帥刀 Marshal sword . Retrieved September 13, 2009 (Japanese, English).

↑ ^a ^b 元帥一覧 . Retrieved September 12, 2009 (Japanese).

[Teramura-1] Yasumichi Teramura: 明治国家の政軍関係 - 政治的理念と政軍関係 ( Eng . "Civil-Military Relations in Meiji State. Political Principles and Civil-Military Relations") . In: Ritsumeikan University (ed.): 政策科学 (German "Political Science") . tape 10 , no. 1 , October 2002, ISSN 0919-4851 , p. 73–84 ( online full text [PDF; 80 kB ]).

[2] 詔書 (明治 31 年) (Eng. "Imperial Edicts 1898"). (No longer available online.) In: 中野文庫 / The Nakano Library. Archived from the original on October 23, 2004 ; Retrieved September 13, 2009 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[3] Maison franco-japonaise de Tokyo (ed.): Dictionnaire historique du Japon . Tome 1. Maisonneuve & Larose, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-7068-1632-5 , pp. 727 (French, limited preview in Google Book search).

[4] 元帥刀 Marshal sword . Retrieved September 13, 2009 (Japanese, English).

[Träger-5] 元帥一覧 . Retrieved September 12, 2009 (Japanese).