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
Army General (Soviet rank) shoulder straps were changed from a four star to a single, larger star and the army logo (making them visually similar to the marshal shoulder strap). Likewise after 1974 they were permitted to wear the marshal's star necklace. Before 1943, "army generals" wore five stars on their collar patches ("petlitsy"). Since 1943, they have worn four stars on their shoulder straps. From 1974 they wore a single large star with a ground forces emblem. In 1997 their Russian successors returned to the four-star insignia. In 2013 the single large star returned as the insignia for the rank of "army general"