The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army responsible for the defense of the Kantō region and northern Honshū during the Pacific War. It was one of the regional commands in the Japanese home islands reporting to the General Defense Command.

History The Eastern District Army was established on 16 November 1923 in the aftermath of the Great Kantō earthquake as the . It was essentially a home guard and garrison, responsible for recruitment and civil defense training to ensure the security of Tokyo, Yokohama, and the surrounding areas.

On 1 August 1935, the Tokyo Defense Headquarters was renamed the Eastern Defense Command. On 1 August 1940, it was renamed again as the Eastern Army, which became the Eastern District Army on 1 February 1945.

The Eastern District Army existed concurrently with the Japanese 12th Area Army, which was tasked with organizing the final defenses of Tokyo against the expected American invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The Eastern District Army played an especially significant role in combating the 15 August 1945 attempted coup d'etat of Major Kenji Hatanaka, who sought to prevent the Emperor's announcement of Japan's surrender from being broadcast. At the time, the commander of the Eastern District Army was General Shizuichi Tanaka.

Support of the Eastern District Army was essential to Hatanaka's plan to take over the Imperial Palace, and so Hatanaka exhorted General Tanaka to aid him. Tanaka refused, and later told his men to ignore Strategic Order 584, forged by Hatanaka and ordering the Eastern District Army to seize and defend the Imperial Palace; in short, to aid in the coup. Rather than send in his men to defeat the rebels by force, Tanaka traveled to the Imperial Palace and spoke to Hatanaka and the other rebel leaders personally, haranguing them, and putting an end to the rebellion.

The Eastern District Army remained active for several months after the surrender of Japan to help maintain public order until the arrival of the American occupation forces, and to oversee the final demobilization and dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army.

Commanders

Commanding officer Name From To1 General Hanzo Yamanashi 16 November 192320 August 1924 2 General Shinnosuke Kikuchi20 August 1924 2 March 19263 Field Marshal Nobuyoshi Muto 2 March 1926 28 July 1926 4 General Nen Isomura28 July 1926 10 August 1928 5 General Shikitaro Kishimoto 10 August 19281 August 1929 6 Lieutenant General Naotoshi Hasegawa1 August 192922 December 1930 7 Lieutenant General Yasakichi Hayashi 22 December 193029 February 1932 8 Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Kihara29 February 193218 March 1933 9 Lieutenant General Noriyuki Hayashi18 March 19335 March 1934 10 General Giichi Nishi5 March 1934 2 December 1935 11 Lieutenant General Kohei Kashii2 December 1935 2 April 1936 12 Lieutenant General Koichi Iwakoshi2 April 1936 2 August 1937 13 General Kotaro Nakamura2 August 1937 23 June 1938 14 Lieutenant General Bunzaburo Kawagishi23 June 19381 December 1939 15 Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba1 December 193915 October 1941 16 General Shizuichi Tanaka15 October 194124 December 1941 17 General Kotaro Nakamura24 December 1941 1 May 1943 18 General Kenji Doihara1 May 194322 March 1944 19 General Keisuke Fujie22 March 19449 March 1945 20 General Shizuichi Tanaka9 March 194522 August 1945 21 General Kenji Doihara22 August 194523 September 1945 22 General Kenzo Kitano23 September 194530 November 1945

Chief of Staff Name From To 1 Lieutenant General Shinji Hata17 November 19232 March 1926 2 Lieutenant General Yataka Nakaoka2 March 192620 May 1928 3 Lieutenant General Okiie Usami30 May 19281 August 1929 4 Lieutenant General Toranosuke Hashimoto1 August 19291 August 1931 5 Major General Shozo Shima1 August 193118 March 1933 6 Lieutenant General Kamezo Odaka18 March 19331 August 1935 7 Lieutenant General Touji Yasui1 August 19352 August 1937 8 General Teiichi Yoshimoto2 August 193720 June 1938 9 Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai15 July 19389 March 1939 10 Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura9 March 19395 September 1940 11 Lieutenant General Haruki Isayama5 September 194028 June 1941 12 Major General Suguru Kitajima28 June 194129 September 1942 13 Lieutenant General Eiichi Tatsumi30 September 19421 March 1945 14 Major General Tatsuhiko Takashima1 March 194530 November 1945

See also Kyūjō Incident Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army

Further reading

External links