1st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

1st Division
Rebel 1st Division troops in the February 26 Incident
Active	1888 - 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Garrison/HQ	Tokyo, Japan
Nickname(s)	Jade Division
Engagements	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War World War II *Battle of Khalkhin Gol *Battle of Leyte *Battle of Luzon
Commanders
Notable commanders	Shigeomi Miyoshi Yasukata Oku Kageaki Kawamura HIH Prince Fushimi Sadanaru HIH Prince Kanin Kotohito Hyoe Ichinohe Yoshinori Shirakawa Jinzaburo Mazaki

The 1st Division (第1師団, Dai-ichi shidan^?) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Jade Division (玉兵団, Gyoku-heidan^?). The 1st Division was formed in Tokyo in January 1871 as the Tokyo Garrison (東京鎮台, Tōkyō chindai^?), one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Tokyo Garrison had responsibility for the eastern region of Honshū (Kantō region), centered on the Tokyo metropolitan area. The six regional commands were transformed into divisions under the army reorganization of 14 May 1888, based on recommendations by the Prussian military advisor Jakob Meckel to the Japanese government.

As one of the oldest Divisions in the Imperial Japanese Army, the 1st Division saw combat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War.