Former 3rd Division Headquarters, Nagoya

The site of the former 3rd Division Headquarters (第三師団司令部跡, Dai-san Shidan Shireibu Ato) is located in the Sannomaru district of Naka-ku, Nagoya, immediately south of Nagoya Castle. It marks the location where one of the Imperial Japanese Army's most storied divisions was headquartered for over half a century, from the earliest days of Japan's modern military through the end of the Second World War.

Origins: Nagoya Garrison (1871–1888)

In 1871 (Meiji 4), the new Meiji government began establishing regional garrisons (鎮台, chindai) as the foundation of a modern army, and a detachment of the Tokyo Garrison was stationed at Nagoya Castle. The Nagoya Garrison (名古屋鎮台) was established in 1873 within the grounds of Nagoya Castle, taking over the former domain lord's compound in the Sannomaru (outer bailey). The garrison's jurisdiction covered the Chūbu region, stretching from Aichi Prefecture to Ishikawa Prefecture, and it maintained between 6,000 and 20,000 personnel responsible for conscription, civil order, and military courts.

On the recommendation of Prussian military advisor Jakob Meckel, the six regional garrisons were reorganized into numbered divisions on 14 May 1888. The Nagoya Garrison became the 3rd Division (第三師団), making it one of the original six divisions and among the oldest formations in the Imperial Japanese Army.

The 3rd Division's Combat Record

The 3rd Division participated in virtually every conflict Japan fought during its imperial era:

• First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95): Deployed to the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria.
• Russo-Japanese War (1904–05): Fought in major engagements in Manchuria including the Battles of Liaoyang and Mukden.
• Siberian Intervention (1918–22): Deployed to the Russian Far East.
• Shandong Intervention (1928): Participated in operations in China's Shandong Province.

Second Sino-Japanese War and the Road to Nanjing

The 3rd Division's most consequential wartime role came during the Second Sino-Japanese War. On 15 August 1937, the Japanese formed the Shanghai Expeditionary Army (上海派遣軍) composed of the 3rd and 11th Divisions under General Iwane Matsui. On 23 August, advance elements of the 3rd Division landed at the Wusong railway pier north of Shanghai, initiating the Battle of Shanghai — one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire Sino-Japanese War.

After months of fierce urban combat, Shanghai fell in November 1937. Of the 3rd Division, only an advance detachment built around the 68th Infantry Regiment took part in the subsequent Japanese advance toward the Chinese capital of Nanjing. The city fell on 13 December 1937 in the Battle of Nanking, after which Japanese forces committed the infamous Nanjing Massacre. This detachment of the 3rd Division, as part of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, was among the units present in the Nanjing area during this period.

The division was subsequently subordinated to the 11th Army in December 1938 and assigned to the China Expeditionary Army headquartered in Nanjing, participating in further operations across central China.

Pacific War (1941–1945)

During the Pacific War, the 3rd Division remained on the China front throughout. It was at Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province when the war ended.

The Headquarters Compound at Nagoya Castle

The 3rd Division headquarters and its subordinate units occupied extensive grounds in and around Nagoya Castle's Sannomaru. The compound included the divisional headquarters building, barracks for the 5th Infantry Brigade and 6th Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, and the 3rd Transport Regiment. The military presence dominated the castle environs — the entire Sannomaru enceinte was placed under army control from 1874 onward.

Historical photographs from the early Shōwa period (circa 1933) show the headquarters as a substantial building complex befitting a major divisional command. A brick wall (煉瓦塀) ran along the front of the headquarters compound facing Demachi-dōri street.

Destruction and Aftermath

On 14 May 1945, approximately 470 B-29 bombers dropped around 2,500 tons of incendiary bombs on northern Nagoya in a devastating daylight raid. Nagoya Castle — which had been designated a National Treasure and was being used as a military command post — was completely destroyed, along with the main donjon, small donjon, Honmaru Palace, and other historic structures. The military facilities in the Sannomaru area were also severely damaged.

After Japan's surrender in August 1945, the remaining military installations were dismantled during the occupation period. The Sannomaru district was gradually converted to civilian government use.

Present Day

Today, the most visible remnant of the 3rd Division headquarters is a deteriorating brick wall (煉瓦塀) approximately 50 metres long, running westward along Demachi-dōri street near the Ninomaru intersection. Low in height and showing severe weathering, this wall once marked the front boundary of the divisional headquarters compound.

The headquarters site itself is now occupied by the Water Resources Organization Chubu Branch (独立行政法人水資源機構中部支社) and the Nagoya Agricultural and Forestry General Government Building (名古屋農林総合庁舎), at 1-2-1 Sannomaru, Naka-ku, Nagoya. The broader Sannomaru district has been transformed into a government office quarter, with prefectural and national government buildings lining the streets where military barracks once stood — leaving little visible trace of the area's seven decades as a major Imperial Japanese Army garrison.