In Japan, the aide-de-camp to the Emperor (侍従武官, jiju bukan) is a special military official whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant (chamberlain). From 1896 through to 1945, a small number of army and naval aides-de-camp were supplied to the Emperor due to his increased status and the risks to him during wartime.
An excerpt from the 113th Imperial decree of Meiji-29 (1896) (明治29年勅令第113号):[1]
Both Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki (鈴木貫太郎) and Anami Korechika (阿南惟幾), army ministers at the end of the war, are said to have contributed to the Potsdam Declaration acceptance by means of their responsibilities to Emperor Showa as the grand chamberlain and aide-de-camp to the Emperor in 1929 (Showa-4).
Moreover, to the Crown Prince, the Imperial Family, and the mediatized Korean royal family (Oukouzoku (王公族), the former Korean imperial family), aides-de-camp were also provided. The military officers serving the Oukouzoku wore silver aiguillettes over their uniform.
No. | Name | Portrait | Rank | Term of Office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | ||||
1 | Okazawa Kuwashi | Lieutenant general | 3 April 1896 | 6 June 1904 | |
General | 6 June 1904 | December 1908 | |||
2 | Nakamura Satoru | Lieutenant general | 29 December 1908 | August 1913 | |
3 | Uchiyama Kojirō | Lieutenant general | 22 August 1913 | 10 August 1915 | |
General | 10 August 1915 | November 1922 | |||
4 | Nara Takeji | Lieutenant general | 24 November 1922 | 20 August 1924 | |
General | 20 August 1924 | April 1933 | |||
5 | Honjō Shigeru | Lieutenant general | 6 April 1933 | 19 June 1933 | |
General | 19 June 1933 | March 1936 | |||
6 | Usami Okiie | Lieutenant general | 23 March 1936 | May 1939 | |
7 | Hata Shunroku | General | 25 May 1939 | August 1939 | |
8 | Hasunuma Shigeru | Lieutenant general | 31 August 1939 | 2 December 1940 | |
General | 2 December 1940 | November 1945 |