Japanese military ranks

Japanese military ranks were broadly divided into those of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Imperial Japanese Army.

Imperial Navy Ranks

Imperial Army Ranks

The IJA divided its ranks into four categories:

• Commissioned Officers
  • Marshals or Gensui

an honorific given by the Emperor of Japan to some generals for their sterling service.

• • Generals or Shokan
    • General or Taisho
    • Lieutenant-general or Chujo
    • Major-general or Shosho

The IJA did not use the ranks of Brigadier or Brigadier-general.

• • Field Officers or sakan
    • Colonel or Taisa
    • Lieutenant-colonel or Chusa
    • Major or Shosa
  • Company Officers or Ikan
    • Captain or Tai-i
    • Lieutenant or Chu-i
    • Second-lieutenant or Sho-i
• Warrant Officers or Junshikan – selected from sergeants and treated as officers.
• Non-commissioned Officers or Kashikan – selected from conscripts and given one year of training in sergeant's school.
  • Sergeant-major or Socho
  • Sergeant or Gunso
  • Corporal or Gocho

• Privates/soldiers or Hei
  • Leading Private/Lance-corporal or Heicho
  • Superior Private or Jotohei
  • First Class Private or Ittohei
  • Second Class Private or Nitohei