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Hideo Iwakuro
General Hideo Iwakuro
Native name	岩畔 豪雄
Born	(1897-10-10)October 10, 1897 Hiroshima prefecture, Japan
Died	November 22, 1970(1970-11-22) (aged 73)
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/ branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1918-1945
Rank	Major General
Battles / wars	Siberian Intervention Second Sino-Japanese War World War II

Hideo Iwakuro (岩畔 豪雄,Iwakuro Hideo, 10 October 1897 – 22 November 1970) was a major general in theImperial Japanese Army during World War II. He is also known as one of the founders of theKyoto Sangyo University.

Iwakuro was born onKurahashi-jima in theInland Sea (then part ofAki County,Hiroshima prefecture). Although he grew up on the island neighboringEtajima (where theImperial Japanese Naval Academy was located), Iwakuro had no interest in a naval career, and was sent for schooling to a military academy inNagoya. He graduated in the 30th class of theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1918, and was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment, based atShibata city in the Hokuetsu region of Japan.

In September 1920, Iwakuro's regiment was assigned as part of the Japanese expeditionary force participating in theSiberian Intervention, and Iwakuro participated in numerous combat missions againstBolshevikpartisans. In 1921, Iwakuro was transferred to theTaiwan Army of Japan, and was based inTaichung. He returned to mainland Japan in 1926 to attend the 38th class of theArmy War College (Japan), and it was shortly after graduation that he became a member of theSakura Kai ultranationalist secret society. In 1932, he was transferred toManchuria shortly after theManchurian Incident and assigned to theKwantung Army, where he held a number of staff positions and was actively involved in planning the independence ofManchukuo, and its future economic development under Imperial Japanese Army management.

Iwakuro was recalled to Japan shortly after theFebruary 26 Incident of 1936, and was a member of thecourt martial of the perpetrators. He was then assigned to Army Intelligence, where he oversaw thewiretapping of foreign embassies, interception of mail and correspondence and the production ofcounterfeit money for use in future operations. In 1937, he was transferred to the newly created 8th Section of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff, and was tasked with planning the independence ofWang Jingwei'sNanjing Nationalist Chinese government. In 1938, he was on the committee which established theNakano School, Japan's training school for intelligence and counter-intelligence agents.

From 1939-1941, Iwakuro was Chief of Army Affairs Section in the Military Affairs Bureau, where his primary task was military procurement. Using theTripartite Alliance, Iwakuro strongly pressedNazi Germany to share military technologies, particularly in terms of armor and aviation-related technologies. He also established a research facility to investigate new technologies, such asmicrowaves, for potential military applications.

Iwakuro, unlike many in the Japanese Army senior staff, was always strongly against war with the Soviet Union (Hokushin-ron) and was conversely a strong proponent of theNanshin-ron philosophy as were many senior offices in theImperial Japanese Navy. With the defeat of the Japanese Army atNomonhan Iwakuro became more outspoken in favor of the concept of aGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and the need for Japan to prepare fortotal war.

Iwakuro was sent asmilitary attaché to the United States in 1941 over the objections ofForeign MinisterYōsuke Matsuoka. However, the Army's position was that Matsuoka was too inexperienced in foreign affairs, and needed additional training. Iwakuro was a close adviser of Japanese ambassador AdmiralKichisaburō Nomura in the Washington negotiations just before the outbreak of thePacific War.^[1] He was withdrawn after the formation of a new cabinet underHideki Tōjō in August 1941, and was named Commanding Officer of the5th Imperial Guards Regiment. But, according to John Toland, The Rising Sun, volume one, page 85, "The former (previous sentence referenced Matsuoka) suggested that Ikawa sound out the army in the person of an influential colonel in the War Ministry named Hideo Iwakuro.^[2]

After the start of thePacific War, the 5th Imperial Guards Regiment came under the command of theSouthern Expeditionary Army Group, and was assigned toMalaya andSingapore. While in Singapore, Iwakuro became head of theI Kikan, and was senior liaison officer with theIndian National Army.^[3]

In 1943, Iwakuro was promoted to Vice Chief of Staff of theTwenty-Fifth Army. He subsequently becameChief of Staff of theTwenty-Eighth Army inBurma in 1944-5.^[4]

Recalled to Japan before the end of the war, Iwakuro was attached to Army Ordnance Administrative Headquarters in 1945, and was Head of Army Investigation Department at the time of the end of the war.

After the war, in 1965, Iwakuro became one of the founders of theKyoto Sangyo University. He died in 1970 of aheart attack.

• Barrett, David (2001).Chinese Collaboration with Japan, 1932-1945: The Limits of Accommodation. Stanford University Press.ISBN 0-8047-3768-1.
• Lebra, Joyce C. (1977).Japanese trained Armies in South-East Asia. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN 0-231-03995-6.
• Mercado, Stephen C. (2002).The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army's Elite Intelligence School. Potomac Books Inc.ISBN 1-57488-443-3.

• Ammenthorp, Steen."Hideo Iwakuro".The Generals of World War II.

• 1897 births
• 1970 deaths
• People from Kure, Hiroshima
• Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II
• Japanese spies
• Indian National Army
• Military personnel from Hiroshima Prefecture

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