Ranks of the Imperial Japanese Army a colonel in the army: "Taisa" (colonel), so the rank of "Rikugun Taisa" denoted an army colonel, while the rank of "Kaigun daisa" denoted a naval captain. Ranks of the Imperial Japanese Army The following tables present the rank insignia of the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. These designs were worn on shoulders as passants (shoulder straps) between the years 1911 and 1938, then on collars afterwards until 1945, when the army was dissolved. The same officer ranks were used for both the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy, the only distinction being the placement
Four-star rank armii" wore shoulder insignia with four small stars, the "marshal" and "admiral flota" wore one single large star on their shoulder boards, and the "glavnii marshal" the same large star with a laurel wreath, very similar to the modern army general insignia of the Russian Army. Upon their formation, the Russian armed forces discontinued the ranks of "marshal" and "glavnii marshal". Four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, or