The Evolution of the Japanese Army Passbook (1871-1945)
Article about: The Evolution of the Japanese Army Passbook (1871-1945) The third time is the charm I already wrote about army passbooks once, back in 2008, but unlike before, I am now making this,
The Evolution of the Japanese Army Passbook (1871-1945)
The Evolution of the Japanese Army Passbook (1871-1945)
The third time is the charm
I already wrote about army passbooks once, back in 2008, but unlike before, I am now making this one of my evolution series that tracks development of the item from the very beginning till the end of WW2.
To tell you the truth, this was actually already 95% finished back in 2016 before I wrote the Sun Helmet story, but had been erased completely along with the research, due to a PC mishap. Thus I have dragged my feet a long time about redoing the research and writing it a third time, but it kept nagging me as unfinished business, so I’m finally taking it off my chest. This one should be good, because I had a lot of practice rewriting it!
What shall we call them?
In the past, I used the word “pay book”, as an English translation, as they were indeed the Japanese counterpart of the WW2 German Soldbuch, which literally meant pay book. However, although the Japanese army booklets shared the same origins as the German booklets, circumstances unique to Japan had made the Japanese version evolve in a different direction since 1897, long before WW2, and there remained no reference to monthly pay or equipment issues anymore, unlike the German booklets used in WW2.
The Japanese name for the Army’s military booklet, Guntai-Techo 軍隊手牒 (or 帳 or 帖, the last character could be written in 3 different ways) was a direct translation of the German,” Militärpaß”, how the Germans used to call the Wehrpaß before 1919. And just like the German system in which you surrendered your Wehrpass to your company upon conscription, and was issued a Soldbuch instead as personal military ID, the Japanese system also employed a dual book system at first.
So for this story, I will call it a military "PASSBOOK" as a neutral choice.
Why the moralizing overdose?
So the Japanese booklet was conceived with the intention to serve an identical purpose to that of the German Wehrpaß/Soldbuch, but unlike the German versions, the Japanese booklet came to be heavily laden with indoctrination content such as military code of conduct and the various imperial rescripts, which by WW2, took up more pages than the soldier’s personal records.
As a result, what started out as a soldier’s ID and military service record became something more akin to the 1966 “Little Red Book” for Chinese Communists containing the teachings of Mao Zedong.
This ever increasing dosage of indoctrination was necessary, as the army at its inception, was more like a rabble of mercenaries, each having their own agenda and allegiances, so much so, that they needed to be reminded repeatedly that their Commander-in-Chief was now the Emperor.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-08-2018 at 07:07 PM.
Historical background to Dangerous Social Tensions within the Army
In the days of the Samurai, Japan was divided up into more than 300 domains and the Samurai warriors in each domain were vassals to the lords of the domain, therefore owing their allegiance primarily to the lord. Under this samurai class, came the farmers, artisans and merchant classes in that order, where the social yardstick was the capability of creating edible (rice) added value.
On top of this social pyramid, came the Shogun, as champion war lord. Theoretically, above the Shogun, at the pinnacle of Japanese society was the Emperor, as the title of Shogun always remained something conferred to war lords by the Emperor, as an honorary title. But in the long years of warring, the prime authority to rule the land had passed to the Shogun and the emperor receded to the background in a way similar to the Pope in the Vatican.
This sort of social order prevailed for several hundred years, of which the last 200 years, denied Western Imperialism access to Japan by enforcing National Isolation. In the meanwhile, Japan witnessed China, its neighbor, being raped by British colonial ambitions, so when Commodore Perry of the USA came with his fleet to gate-crash Japan’s national isolation in the mid 19th century, the Shogunate seemed cowed and powerless to resist colonization of Japan by the West.
In the face of this national crisis, several domains in southern Japan united to persuade the Shogun to abdicate and return sovereignty to the Emperor, which came to be called the 1868 Meiji Restoration.
This new regime was quick to decide that if you couldn’t beat them, joining them was the only way to preserve the country, and to this end, embarked on a path of rapid westernization and industrialization. This entailed abolishing the social class system of the past several hundred years, and instead, embracing Western style democracy as the new backbone of social order.
The Imperial Japanese Army appeared out of this background on 3rd January 1871. Initially, all the roughly 300 domains were required to assign their Samurai vassals to the service of the new government with number of men in proportion to the wealth of each domain, as measured in rice harvest volume.
So they were merely "samurai warriors on loan to the emperor’s new government by the domain lords", whose allegiance to the new government was questionable like mercenaries, as many of such domains had actually sided with the Shogunate, against the Emperor, in the struggle for the 1868 Restoration.
In order to form a cadre loyal to the Emperor at the Imperial Palace, on 2nd April 1871, a personal guard unit was formed only from personnel drawn from Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa Domains, which had fought on the emperor’s side throughout the Meiji Restoration. These troops will later evolve into the elite Imperial Guards.
Shielded by this military presence, of somewhat questionable loyalty, on 29th August 1871, the government went ahead with abolishing all former feudal domains, and set up prefectures run by governors, instead. Thus the local war lords of the domains lost their claims to the rice harvest of their own regions and this automatically meant that the entire Samurai population lost their traditional livelihood unless they could serve the new government in other capacities.
So the Imperial Japanese Army was born with a moral dilemma of having to quell any uprisings that the death throes of their own Samurai class might bring.
On top of this, army service was required to be a democratic responsibility, as the entire samurai class only represented roughly 7% of the population, and there was no way such a small military presence could defend Japan against foreign encroachment. So they had to find a way to quickly make warriors out of the remaining 93%, namely farmers, craftsman and merchants to whom soldiering ethics was quite alien.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-08-2018 at 07:10 PM.
Bringing Former Foes and different Social Classes onto the same Page
This finally came on 28th December 1872, with the announcement that the government will be introducing general military conscription and the first draft took place in April 1873. 20-year old men were called up for a 3-year military service.
The ex-Samurai class resented the idea of having to fight alongside former farmers and other commoners, and the commoners, in return, also found general conscription equally unacceptable at first.
Thus in the very early days of its existence, the Imperial Japanese Army was an extremely fragile organization held together only by lofty ideals borrowed from the West without any strong moral convictions to bind them together.
Commoners had to be taught samurai (warrior) ethics and even the samurai required having their mind-set changed to accept the emperor and new government as their new leader, in addition to accepting the former lower classes as their new comrades in arms.
The heavy moralizing content seen in Japanese army passbooks was not merely pep talk for raising the army’s morale, but because the army had to become a role model for a totally new Japanese Social Order.
Come to think of it, this situation is actually very similar to the state of affairs in post Civil War USA, which had to create a new army, integrating hostile confederate personnel and former slaves, in which the army must have also had to play as role model for a new social order.
The IJA was born on 3rd January 1871, when a Conscription Code designed by Aritomo Yamagata called for each of the roughly 300 domains to provide five ex-Samurai soldiers for every 10 thousand Koku of rice harvest of the Domain. 1 Koku (石) of rice was 150 kg in weight or 180 liters in volume, what fed one person for a year. So the wealth of a Samurai family and Domain were all measured and expressed in this Koku. Taxation was therefore also proportional to Koku, so it was logical to make the burden of national defense based on Koku as well.
These soldiers were issued the first Guntai Techo, the Japanese counterpart of the German Soldbuch. And the counterpart of the Wehrpaß in the case of the IJA was simply called a duplicate Guntai Techo (Guntai Techo Hikae 軍隊手牒控) which was kept by the company.
At that time, the booklet was in every way like the German Soldbuch (Pay Book). Besides the personal profile of the soldier, and his military record, the main purpose of the book was to record every salary payment, and keep track of equipment issued. It even kept track of one’s marksmanship scores, which in Germany was a separate Schießbuch. However, unlike the German system, officers did not have such a booklet in the IJA.
The two booklets were identical in content, but the booklet held by the soldier was printed on better paper. These booklets did not come with a hard cover yet, and both were in simple Japanese style binding with thread. They were slimmer and taller than the later versions. Interestingly, though the army documents announcing the changes, etc mixed up the 3 ways of writing the word Techo, the actual Military Booklet said 軍隊手帳 on the cover, using the same Kanji as we do today. Carrying such a booklet without any proper protective cover meant a high rate of wear and tear, against which, they were forced to issue carry bags (predecessor of the Valuables bag of WW2) already from 1874 June 9th.
When someone transferred to another unit, the company duplicate got forwarded by the old unit directly to the new company, and when the soldier arrived there at the new unit, he would be required to submit his booklet to the NCO in charge of personnel, who would compare the soldier’s booklet against the company duplicate to ensure everything matched. He would then record the soldier’s new unit affiliation before returning the book to the soldier.
“Instructions for handling of issued items and weapons”
The booklets at this time were totally practical, devoid of any moralizing content we see later. After all, all army soldiers at this time were former samurai warriors, so the government must have seen no reason for military lecturing.
So the booklet began with a practical reminder called “Instructions for handling of issued items and weapons（給養物品武器取扱心得）” The following is a translation of the right side page of the attached photo below. It said:
1. When being issued items or weapons, the Master Sergeant needs to take overall charge, and receipt needs to be confirmed in the presence of the issuing sergeant.
2. Every first day of the month, the Captain in charge of the platoon is required to enter the platoon’s quarters to check the quantities of items and weapons against the records in the booklet and affix his personal seal as confirmation. This exact procedure also applies when transferring out or being discharged.
3. Loss or damage of equipment or weapon, arising from personal negligence is payable by the individual responsible.
4. As the booklet holds critical information for each soldier, even those in the same unit may not look into someone’s booklet without being invited to do so. Losing the booklet will be subject to severe punishment, so one is well warned to take daily good care of it.
5. The oath needs to be read out loud in front of the commanding officer of the platoon and one’s stamp affixed thereafter. (This clause actually would not have been in the Jan. 1871 edition as it refers to the oath introduced only on 28th December, 1871)
6. When a booklet has been used for 3 full years, it should be exchanged with a new one.
Personal profile information of these times had a few extra items that were no longer relevant in later times. They asked what Shinto and Buddhist sects one belonged to, Occupation not only of yourself, but also of your father’s, Names not only of parents, but also of grandparents, and adoptive parents, if applicable, names and ages of male siblings, children and wife, so enough to draw a family tree consisting of 4 generations.
Unlike German Soldbuchs which had ID photos, the Japanese version never had photos at any time, most likely out of reasons of cost. So instead, personal profile required fairly detailed descriptions of one’s facial features, like face shape (round, oval), forehead (wide, narrow) Size of eyes, shape of nose, lips (thick, thin), jaw line, eyebrows (bushy, thin) hair (bushy, thin) and whether one already had small pox. Describing one’s own face in such terms that predate photography is a skill we no longer seem to have today, as I would be lost how I could describe myself in such terms.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-09-2018 at 10:42 AM.
1871 December, “The Code of Conduct and Oath 読法” - the beginning of moralizing and indoctrination
On 1871 December 28, the Army established its basic military code. Called “Doku Hou (読法)” in Japanese, it literally meant “Law that was read aloud”, and was based upon an oath that used to be sworn by German Knights (“der Rittereid”). Whereas the oath of a knight swore ultimate loyalty to the church, and then to his nation and lord, so long as those latter commitments did not conflict with the mandates of the church, all that was rewritten to have the Imperial Army soldier swear allegiance to the Emperor and the Empire.
As seen earlier, the government had abolished all the feudal domains in August of that year, which technically made the Samurais in the army “lord-less”. Thus they chose this timing to have them transfer their loyalty from their former domain lords to the Emperor and his Empire.
Upon being inducted into the army, this code was read aloud by the company commander, to ensure that even the tiny minority of illiterate soldiers understood those ground rules of soldiering. Once it was read to them, the soldier’s actions came under the jurisdiction of martial law. So technically speaking, for instance, penalties for going AWOL only came into effect after this reading.
This Code of Army Conduct consisted of 8 clauses.
1. A soldier’s duty was to enhance the Imperial Prestige 皇威, to uphold the rule of its national laws, and to protect the nation and its people. Those joining its ranks needed to put loyalty to the Emperor and nation above all else, be obedient to orders, conduct oneself with courtesy and be ambitious for honor on the battlefield.
2. A soldier needed to be respectful of superiors and be cordial towards peers, never exhibiting poor manners on or off the battlefield.
3. Obedience to one’s commander was to be absolute. Even the slightest infractions would be cause for punishment.
4. The traditional ban on renegade bands 徒党 (a group of 3 or more) would be enforced with severe penalties for offenders. This referred to organized defiance and criminal acts like gang rape, which generally drew the death penalty, particularly for instigators.
5. Desertion, Theft and Gambling brought heavy punishment. However, those who deserted in uniform and carrying a weapon came under extra heavy punishment. Sentences were reduced, however, for those who turned themselves in within 3 days of going Absent Without Leave (AWOL).
6. Forced sales, coercive borrowing and usury shall be punished.
7. Quarrels, Fighting, Recklessness, Drunken disorder, Fraud and Laziness shall all be punished
8. Cowardice or fright demonstrated on the battlefield will be strictly and instantly punished. Punishment for those offenses performed in front of the enemy shall be particularly severe.
1872 March, First Revision to the Military Booklet (Code of Conduct and Oath Incorporated)
On March 7th 1872, the Code of Conduct was soon paired up with an Oath that the soldier had to read aloud in response to the commander’s reading of the Dokuhou.
This set of Code of Military Conduct and Oath were now incorporated in the booklet as the first revision of the booklet.
The original version of the oath was as follows
--In peace time as well as war, I will devote body and soul to the nation and pledge loyalty
--I will faithfully follow all orders of my commander as well as my superiors
--I will not desert the army, neither in peace nor in war
--Even if my parents may fall ill, I will not take home leave for granted
The following booklet was issued in January 1872 to an ex-samurai, who rose to Sergeant before being discharged. The fact that it already contained the Code of Conduct and Oath would mean that it was rebound after retroactively adding those pages to the front.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-08-2018 at 05:29 PM.
On September 28th 1872, it became necessary to amend the last part of article 5 of the Code of Conduct from “However, those who desert in uniform and carrying a weapon shall come under extra severe punishment. Sentences will be reduced, however, for those who turn themselves in within 3 days from going AWOL.” to” within 2 weeks of going AWOL”. Issued booklets had this part amended in red ink. This change became necessary, because the comment in the booklet was found to be in contradiction with other army regulations on this point.
The above Dokuhou revision to the passbook and duplicate was put into effect from booklets issued from October 1873.
An interesting revelation from this revision is that an August 8th 1873 memo said Department 5 (Finance Dept.) of the Ministry of the Army should provide samples to be copied locally, instead of shipping all from Tokyo. All earlier books in stock at Dept.5 were to be disposed of. Booklets in those days were not yet supplied from any central location, but printed by each garrison based on samples from Tokyo.
1873 April, General Conscription Begins (Commoners Enter the Army)
On 28th December 1872, the announcement came that the government will be introducing general military conscription and the first draft took place in April 1873. 20-year old men were called up for a 3-year military service.
However, this posed a daunting problem, because the Samurai would not accept losing their privileges to commoners becoming soldiers, and neither would farmers be willing to lay down their lives for the former Samurai oppressors. It was not simply a problem of building an army, but about rebuilding the entire society of Japan.
This kind of class tension, however, subsided gradually as military indoctrination gained traction. Other practical aspects of military life that helped greatly in gaining public acceptance was the fact that you ate much better in the army than you ate as a farmer. Furthermore, farmers at the time could not afford Futons and typically slept in hay, but in the army, you slept in proper futon bedding and could take baths every day. What’s more, you even got paid and there were occasional leaves granted. All in all, army life was generally much easier and better than a farmer’s hard life. So much so that farmers of the Meiji period said the army spoiled farmers into “lazy sloths”. And the presence of a PX was a luxury to farmers and became a great allure of life in the army.
1876 March, Wearing of Swords Prohibited
On March 28th 1876 came the banning of sword-wearing, unless you were in a uniformed service. Samurai were now denied their last piece of class identity. Of course, this became justified, because general conscription secured means of national defense without relying on sword-toting samurai and establishment of patrolling policemen did away with the need for daily personal defense, making swords only a security risk.
1877 Feb-Sept, The Satsuma Rebellion and its Legacy for the Army
Though the farmers had something tangible to gain from this modernization, all that was pretty much at the expense of the Samurai class. After the banning of swords, Samurai rebellions sprouted throughout Japan and kept the new army busy like fire fighters. The Satsuma Rebellion was the culmination of protest by such disgruntled Samurai and was the last civil war in Japanese history. It ended with the professional warriors of the Satsuma clan being defeated by an army of conscripts, proving the wisdom of having sacrificed the samurai class for the sake of modernization through a more egalitarian society.
1878 April, Birth of the Infantry Branch Booklet
One consequence of having to record receipt of issued uniform items and equipment in the Military Booklet was that this part had to differ greatly between the branches of service. This difference was covered by providing a lot of blank spaces in the booklets so each branch could fill it out the way they wanted. However, that becomes a lot more time consuming than the German type system of having a page with a printed listing of what your branch got issued and simply tick them off as you received them.
The new military booklet introduced from April 11th 1878 was called the 歩兵科手牒 Infantry Branch Booklet. From this edition, the booklets finally got a black cardboard cover which completely encased the booklet. “Infantry Branch Booklet” was embossed in gold, which will remain the trend until the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Note also that Techo is now written using an alternative kanji, different from that used on the cover of the earlier soft-cover booklets.
Of course the name itself suggests that there must have been branch specific editions for all the other branches as well. Thus booklets for Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, Transport, etc also followed on August 13th .
On September 14th 1878 an example of how to fill in the Infantry Book was provided and Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers and Transport troops were to be done in a likewise manner.
It should also be of interest to point out that the strip of white cloth with the owners name on it, draped over the front cover in a very improvised looking manner in the photo below, was not a private improvisation, but an official feature of these black passbooks until the 1897 version. The strip of cloth was actually sewn into the seam of the cover and was the official name tag integral to the passbook's design. This becomes clear later in post 12, which calls this strip a Shimei-Fu 氏名符 (name tag).
When you carried the passbook in the field, you flipped the tag over, so it went inside the cover, but when the books were collected by company HQ for updating, these strips were draped out in front, so a certain individual's pass could easily be located within a pile. So it was actually a cleverly done retractable name tag.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-09-2018 at 11:18 AM.
1878 August, The Takebashi Incident calls into question the Army’s Loyalty to the Emperor
Soldiers that won the war against the Satsuma Clan had little to celebrate and this soon turned into bitter rage, as immediately after the Satsuma Rebellion, disparity in the granting of honors between officers and other ranks coupled with cancellation of retirement benefits, caused the Imperial Guards themselves to mount an armed mutiny on 23rd August 1878. This huge embarrassment for the Imperial Army was called the Takebashi Incident, which was swiftly swept under the rug after quickly punishing a total of 394 men, of which 55 faced the firing squad. The full scope of the scandal was only exposed after the end of WW2.
The fact that it was the Imperial Guards that revolted was a shocking realization for the army and this incident left its mark in the form of establishment of the Kempei (Military Police) to maintain internal military order and defense of the Imperial Palace by a dual system by adding what later became the palace police.
Another embarrassment for the army was the fact that the government troops, too often, lost battles they should have won and suffered extremely high casualties during the Satsuma Rebellion of the previous year, which called into question the dedication of army soldiers in general and their fighting spirit. The Army realized that this difference came from having such a charismatic leader as Takamori Saigo as an opponent, leading the rebellion, against which the government army simply could not muster enough Esprit de Corps.
The army badly needed a shot in the arm to get its act together. And the army’s countermeasure for this was to position Emperor Meiji as its charismatic Grand Marshal of the Army. The means by which they achieved this was Emperor Meiji’s famous Rescript to the Soldiers and Sailors.
1882, January, “Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors (Gunjin Chokuyu)” issued by Emperor Meiji
Issued on 4th January, 1882, it is the most important document in the development of the modern Japanese Military, apart from the Conscription Ordinance of 1873 and was the first to be addressed directly to soldiers. Intended as the official code of ethics of all soldiers, it provided the moral underpinning for a national ideology that defined service to the state in terms of absolute loyalty to the emperor.
This rescript had the distinction of being presented directly to the army minister by the emperor at a special ceremony at the palace. This unprecedented act was meant to symbolize the personal bond between the emperor and the military, as if he were giving private instructions to his personal army, and it elevated the observance of these precepts to a sacred obligation to the throne.
Besides morale issues, another important background for this rescript was that the new idea of democracy was giving the public a high, and everyone stood on a soap box to make speeches what the newly proposed constitution of Japan should address. To keep this atmosphere from getting out of hand, the government announced in 1881 that they would convene the first Japanese parliament in 10 years time. Everyone was getting political, but the government could not afford its soldiers getting involved in such movements and badly needed to divert their attention away from such crowds.
The rescript was initially printed in black (in red from 1912 onwards) and took up the first 16 pages of the Infantry Branch Booklet.
.
The message is composed of 3 parts, the “foreword”, the “5 points that comprise the code of ethics”, and the “closing”.
1. Loyalty to the Nation (忠節)
Soldiers should not be misled by the whims of public opinion, and should distance themselves from politics and be true to their duty with the attitude that “duty is weightier than a mountain and death lighter than a feather”. This was also construed as prohibiting engagement in politics, even to the extent of forfeiting their right to vote.
2. Courteousness (礼儀)
Respect one’s superiors as well as one’s subordinates, and in the interest of unity of the troops, ensure that subordinates are treated with consideration and kindness.
3. Bravery (尚武勇)
Brutal conduct in the rage of battle is not bravery. A soldier must first be able to think things through before taking action. As true bravery is to conduct one’s military duty without underestimating a weak enemy and neither fearing the strong, those who honor bravery must interact with others with courtesy to gain the goodwill of the people. Irrational brutality will only serve to cause one to be hated and despised by the populace.
4. Integrity (trustworthiness) (信義)
To abide by one’s word and to do one’s part. In order to ensure integrity, a soldier must have a clear idea of priorities before committing to any actions. Otherwise one will often become victim to a dilemma, torn between incompatible commitments.
5. Frugality (質素)
Decadence spreads like a plague, destroying the morale of the troops and will cause the military to be totally discredited by the people.
The Rescript, if read aloud, took about 10 minutes long, but despite that length, all Army soldiers were expected to memorize it, word for word. So even before joining, men would furiously cram until they could recite it smoothly by heart. The fact that it was written by a professional ghost writer helped greatly, as it is written in profound language with a pleasing flow of rhythm.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-09-2018 at 02:03 PM.
1882 December, “Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors” gets incorporated into passbooks.
The decision to add in the booklet, the Rescript made public on January 4th came already on February 14th, but then came other revisions as if they had been waiting for the right opportunity to bring them up, causing the booklet to see overall re-editing.
Thus on March 1st, the Dokuhou (Code of Conduct) was revised, which led further to a simplified oath announced on March 6th.
Furthermore, on March 9th, followed a minor revision on how to record marksmanship scores in the booklet to reflect the latest changes to the shooting practice regulations.
The last change to come up was the “Instructions for handling of issued items”, which was rewritten on May 18th. All these changes were printed together as insertions into issued books and new booklets were to be printed up in time for the annual inductions coming in December. However, they decided to drop these instructions as well as the Dokuhou from the duplicate booklets.
Revised Dokuhou (Code of Conduct) and Oath
The main points of the revised Code of Conduct were---
1. Demonstrate utmost loyalty with sincerity of heart
2. Show respect to superiors and be trustworthy to peers.
3. Follow the orders of superiors immediately whatever they are
4. Conduct oneself bravely and not in cowardice
5. Hold in contempt any petty lust for violence and misplaced pride in being a mere bully
6. Endeavor to acquire high virtues and lead a frugal life.
7. To hold honor dear and fear dishonor.
Lastly, in addition, “to observe the laws and rules of society, not to shame one’s ancestors and tarnish the family name. The criminal law of the army is there to punish those who bring harm and disrepute to the army and as such is particularly strict in its punishment.”
This is followed by the new oath that required the soldier’s signature, signet and the date
The new oath said, “I hereby pledge that I will abide by the clauses of what has now been read out to me and not go against them.”
Revised “Instructions for handling of issued items”
1. All issuing of weapons or clothing must be recorded in this booklet
2. Damage or loss of issued items when due to personal negligence will not only be subject to punishment, but the individual will also be charged the cost.
3. Loss or damage to issued items must be reported immediately. If such facts are discovered during inspection, greater penalties will apply.
4. As the booklet holds critical information for each soldier, one should not carelessly show it to others and take daily good care of it. Damage or loss of the booklet will not only be subject to punishment, but also the individual must be charged for the damage.
As can be seen, they no longer seemed to carry out monthly kit inspections by the Captain, but introduced tougher punishment when irregularities were discovered in spot checks. There was also no reference anymore to the oath or about getting a new pass every 3 years.
1885 March, Transport Troops Laborer’s Military Booklet (輜重輸卒手牒) Established
On March 13th 1885, a special military pass was set up for laborers of the transport troops. These personnel were different from transport troops personnel in that their military service was limited to 3 months instead of 3 years. They were generally selected from those rated b or c in the physical exam and their military status was below that of a private.
1885 July, Religion dropped from the Personal Profile Page of the Military Booklet
Religion was no longer required to be recorded even in family registers, so this was now omitted from the military booklet as well.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-09-2018 at 11:29 AM.
1887 November, Instead of Military Booklets for each Branch, variations were consolidated into 3 types of Booklets
On November 17th 1887, they consolidated the needs for Military Booklet variations into three types.
Class 1 personnel, who were other ranks quartered in barracks, got class 1 booklets (第一種軍隊手牒).
Class 2 personnel were those having living quarters outside barracks, such as those working at the Ministry of the Army, a department within a division or Military Police. They were issued class 2 booklets (第二種軍隊手牒).
Class 3 personnel were laborers in the transport troops, who now received a class 3 booklet (第三種軍隊手牒).
The list of “issued items” was to be filled in according to the needs of each branch of service.
When personnel were transferred to a barracked unit from outside, he had to immediately switch to a class 1 booklet. On the other hand, in reverse cases of barracked personnel transferring out, his class one booklet was to be updated in vermillion ink. Only when running out of entry pages would he get a class 2 booklet issued. However, those transferred into Kempei (MP) units were to be issued class 2 books immediately.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-09-2018 at 11:36 AM.
Personal profile (information on grandparents and parents deleted) for all books, as well as the marksmanship score page (scores for each training course and marksman class entered) in class one passbooks got revised.
1889 December, Passbook Duplicates Discontinued
On December 5th 1889, the decision was finally made to drop the dual-book system they had since 1871 and completely discontinue the duplicate book held by the company. Separate ledgers for equipment issues, pay, sick leaves, marksmanship points were to be kept as before.
Since they started to leave items out of the duplicate booklets in December 1882, the army had come to realize how much of an administrative burden the dual booklet system had become.
It was particularly impractical to take the duplicate booklets into the field when the unit was mobilized. So from January 15 1885 they had set up an excerpted version for field use and called it the “Military Booklet duplicate for mobilized troops (下士卒出戦軍隊手牒控)”. This was further renamed from 20th October 1886 as an “Enlisted Personnel Wartime Roster (下士卒戦時名簿)”.
Then in December of 1888 the first 13 pages were omitted, which covered personal profile and military service records. The resulting duplicate book only recorded marksmanship points, equipment and uniform issues and salary records, for which other ledgers already existed, making the duplicate booklet totally redundant.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 09-08-2018 at 05:51 PM.
The Evolution of the Japanese Army Passbook (1871-1945)
.
Bookmarks