17th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

17th Division
For IJA 17th Division Officer’s Club, Okayama
Active	13 November 1907 – 1 May 1925 4 April 1938 - 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Garrison/HQ	Okayama, Japan
Nickname(s)	Moon Division
Engagements	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II

The 17th Division (第17師団, Dai-jūnana Shidan^?) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the Moon Division (月兵団, Getsu-heidan^?). The 17th Division was one of two infantry divisions newly raised by the Imperial Japanese Army immediately after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). The division received its colors on 13 November 1907. Its original headquarters was in a suburb of the city of Okayama, and its troops were recruited primarily from communities in the three prefectures of Okayama, Hirohima, and Shimane. The first commander of the division was Lieutenant General Ichinohe Hyoe.

On 4 March 1908, the headquarters of the 17th division was transferred to rural Mitsu District, Okayama (now part of the city of Okayama). On 18 March 1915, the headquarters of the division moved to a more central location in Okayama city. However, on 26 March 1915 it was ordered to Liaoyang in Manchuria as a garrison force, before returning to Okayama 10 May 1917.