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
Uniform of the Union Army as follows: Contemporary photographs and a Winslow Homer painting, "Playing Old Soldier", show staff officers occasionally added their departmental initials within the shoulder straps between the rank insignia. "M.S." for "Medical Staff" appears to have been the most common. With the exception of slight changes to the representing insignia for the more junior commissioned grades as well as additional color combinations for new career fields, the shoulder strap insignia and color scheme survives largely unchanged in the modern era on the Army Service Uniform. Individual officers would sometimes add gold braid Austrian knots on their sleeves but this practice was