The , literally "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire", was the official ground-based armed force of the
Empire of Japan, from 1871 to 1945. It was controlled by the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the
Ministry of War, both of which were nominally subordinate to the
Emperor of Japan as
supreme commander of the army and the navy. Later an
Inspectorate General of Military (Army) Aviation, became the third agency with oversight over the army. During wartime or national emergencies, the nominal command functions of the emperor would be centralized in an
Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ), an ad-hoc body consisting of the chief and vice chief of the Army General Staff, the minister of war, the chief and vice chief of the Naval General Staff, the inspector general of military aviation, and the inspector general of military training.