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Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)

Highest rank in the prewar Imperial Japanese Navy


Summary

Highest rank in the prewar Imperial Japanese Navy

FieldValue
nameKaigun-gensui
native_name海軍元帥
image元帥徽章.svg
image_size100
captionGensui Badge
countryJapanese Empire
service branch
formation20 January 1898
abolished1945
higher rankDai-gensui
lower rankAdmiral
equivalentsGensui (Army)

| Non-NATO rank =

Kaigun-gensui, formal rank designations: Gensui-kaigun-taishō was the highest rank in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The term gensui was used for both the navy and the Imperial Japanese Army, and was a largely honorific title awarded for extremely meritorious service to the Emperor. In the Meiji period, the title was awarded to five generals and three admirals. In the Taishō period it was awarded to six generals and six admirals, and in the Shōwa period it was awarded to six generals and four admirals. It was similar to Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy and Fleet admiral in the United States Navy.

List of ''Kaigun-gensui''

Note that several were promoted the same year they died; these were posthumous promotions.

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)AppointedRetiredOriginRef.
[[File:Tsugumichi Saigo 2.jpg75px]]Marquess
Saigō Tsugumichi
(1843–1902)20 January 18981898Kagoshima
[[File:Itoh Sukeyuki.jpg75px]]Count
Itō Sukeyuki
(1843–1914)31 January 190616 January 1914 †
[[File:Inoue Yoshika.jpg75px]]Viscount
Inoue Yoshika
(1845–1929)31 October 191122 March 1929 †
[[File:Tōgō Heihachirō.jpg75px]]Marquess
Tōgō Heihachirō
(1847–1934)21 April 191330 May 1934 †last=Kitafirst=Ikkititle=IKKI KITA SOCIALIST SELECTIONS: ARTICLES AND LETTERS FROM 1906 TO 1937publisher=Ryota Nakanishidate=2025-05-24isbn=978-988-76066-9-7url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/IKKI_KITA_SOCIALIST_SELECTIONS/r9xfEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%2522Gensui%2522+Imperial+Japanese+Navy+-wikipedia&pg=PA10&printsec=frontcoveraccess-date=2025-07-22page=}}
[[File:Prince Arisugawa Takehito.jpg75px]]Prince
Arisugawa Takehito
(1862–1913)7 July 191310 July 1913 †Imperial Family
[[File:Ijuin Goro.jpg75px]]Baron
Ijūin Gorō
(1852–1921)26 May 191713 January 1921 †Kagoshima
[[File:Prince Yorihito.jpg75px]]Prince
Higashifushimi Yorihito
(1867–1922)27 June 1922
(posthumous)Imperial Family
[[File:Shimamura Hayao.jpg75px]]Baron
Shimamura Hayao
(1858–1923)8 January 1923
(posthumous)Kōchi
[[File:Admiral Kato Tomosaburo.jpg75px]]Baron
Katō Tomosaburō
(1861–1923)23 August 192324 August 1923 †Hiroshima
[[File:Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu 1930s.jpg75px]]Prince
Fushimi Hiroyasu
(1876–1946)27 May 19321945Imperial Family
[[File:Portrait of Yamamoto Isoroku.jpg75px]]Yamamoto Isoroku
(1884–1943)18 April 1943
(posthumous)Nagaoka
[[File:Admiral Osami Nagano Official Portrait c1940.png75px]]Nagano Osami
(1880–1947)21 June 19431945Kōchilast=Bradleyfirst=F. J.title=He Gave the Order: The Life and Times of Admiral Osami Naganopublisher=Lulu.comdate=2015-04-25isbn=978-1-57638-371-1url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/He_Gave_the_Order_The_Life_and_Times_of/f7nGCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%2522Gensui%2522+Imperial+Japanese+Navy+-wikipedia&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcoveraccess-date=2025-07-22page=}}
[[File:Mineichi Koga.jpg75px]]Koga Mineichi
(1885–1944)31 March 1944
(posthumous)Arita

References

ja:元帥 (日本)

References

  1. Kowner, Rotem. (2009-08-20). "The A to Z of the Russo-Japanese War". Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
  2. Kita, Ikki. (2025-05-24). "IKKI KITA SOCIALIST SELECTIONS: ARTICLES AND LETTERS FROM 1906 TO 1937". Ryota Nakanishi.
  3. Bradley, F. J.. (2015-04-25). "He Gave the Order: The Life and Times of Admiral Osami Nagano". Lulu.com.
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