Imperial Guard (Japan)
branch of the Imperial Japanese Army (1867–1945) dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties
The Imperial Guard of Japan has been two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the Imperial guard divisions (Konoe Shidan), a quasi-independent elite branch of the Imperial Japanese Army, which was dissolved shortly after World War II. The current organization is the Imperial Guard Headquarters (Kouguu-Keisatsu Hombu; lit. Imperial Palace Police Headquarters), a civilian law enforcement organization that is part of the National Police Agency.
Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army
The Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army was formed in 1867. It became the foundation of the Imperial Japanese Army after the Emperor Meiji assumed all the powers of state during the Meiji Restoration. The Imperial Guard, which consisted of 12,000 men organized and trained along French military lines, first saw action in the Satsuma Rebellion. It was organized into the 1st Guards Infantry Brigade, which had the 1st and 2nd Regiments. The 3rd and 4th Regiments belonged to the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade.
By 1885 the Imperial Japanese Army consisted of seven divisions, one of which was the Imperial Guard. A division consisted of four regiments containing an HQ and two battalions each.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Imperial Guard (Japan)” as branch of the Imperial Japanese Army (1867–1945) dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as branch of the Imperial Japanese Army (1867–1945) dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q707181. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1867 and 1885.
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This entry incorporates text from “Imperial Guard (Japan)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.