[Family History] Tracing the current location and war death records of the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch, where my grandfather died as a war casualty. What a coincidence, my grandfather might have participated in the battle in Shanghai, where I worked for many years! My grandfather passed away without ever seeing the face of my father, who was yet to be born...
Hello.
I am Yoshinari Mori, a trilingual Sanuki PR officer.
This time, I am reporting on the results of my inquiry regarding the current location of the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch, where my grandfather died as a war casualty, and the records concerning him.
While writing this article, I realized that May 15th was, coincidentally, the day my father was born.
My grandfather died in the war without ever seeing the face of my father, who was yet to be born.
Just imagining what my grandfather must have felt when he passed away without seeing the birth of his long-awaited first son brings tears to my eyes.
It has become frightening as I research this, but my grandfather might have participated in the battle in Shanghai, where I lived for many years.
🔸Family History (as of April 2025) - Awa Navy, Gonpei Hisamura Mori, Goura Guard Station, Inaba-no-kami Ujitsugu Nagashio, Shinano-no-kami Soden Akazawa, Jakucho Setouchi, Shizuko Kasagi, Joji Abe, Emperor Showa, North Korea -
🔸My grandfather, who died in the war in his 20s during the Second Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937
Although I have never met him, my grandfather has been on my mind a lot lately.
I only know my grandfather from the photo taken before he passed away.
I know nothing about my grandfather other than the fact that he died in the war.
My father also never spoke about my grandfather because he died before my father was born. Or rather, my father had no memories of him either.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, on October 20, 1937 (Showa 12), my grandfather regretfully passed away at the young age of 27 at the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch in Kagawa Prefecture, without ever seeing the face of his firstborn son who was yet to be born.
It was when my father was still in my grandmother's womb.
My father was born on May 15, 1938 (Showa 13), six months after my grandfather passed away, and he died on September 3, 2013 (Heisei 25).
・Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch
My grandfather (left) holding a bugle. Photographed before he passed away.
My grandfather (left), who passed away without seeing the face of his firstborn son who was yet to be born. Photographed before he passed away.
🔸List of War Dead
The location of my grandfather's death from war wounds and illness is listed as the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch.
Those who are believed to have belonged to the same 12th Infantry Regiment died in Luodian Town, Shanghai, in September 1937. My grandfather died on October 20th.
Shizuo Mori
Born July 27, 1910 (Meiji 43)
Died October 20, 1937 (Showa 12) at the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch. Age 27.
🔸11th Division
🔸11th Division (Zentsuji) Second Sino-Japanese War
In January 1932 (Showa 7), they were mobilized for the First Shanghai Incident and returned. The following year, in 1933 (Showa 8), they participated as the Southern Army in special grand maneuvers held in Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures.
The Second Sino-Japanese War(1937 - 1945) saw them deployed once again to Shanghai.
In September 1938 (Showa 13), they were dispatched to Manchuria, and were stationed there thereafter.
In October 1939 (Showa 14), the subordinate 22nd Infantry Regiment (Matsuyama) was incorporated into the newly established 24th Division, becoming a triangular division.
🔸12th Infantry Regiment (Formation location: Marugame)
1937(Showa 12) - The Second Sino-Japanese Warbroke out, and in the Battle of Shanghai, they participated in the Battle of Baoshan Castle, as well as the battles of Pu Zhen and Luodian Town. During the Battle of Luodian Town, a mortar shell hit directly while the 2nd Battalion Commander was gathering the company commanders for a strategy meeting. The Battalion Commander, Major Kaji, and others were killed in action.
Unbelievable. The 12th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Division, to which my grandfather likely belonged, participated in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.
Shanghai is the place where I worked for about 8 years during my assignment in China‼️ I am shocked to learn this on May 15, 2025.
While I was working in China, I never thought about my grandfather, but perhaps he himself had participated in the battle in Shanghai‼️
It seems that one is sometimes called to places connected to one's ancestors.
Previously, when I lived in Kyoto and went to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, I happened to visit Shokoku-ji Temple on the north side of the palace. I had no plans to go there, but my feet just headed toward Shokoku-ji.
I didn't know it at the time, but Shokoku-ji was the place where my great-grandmother's ancestor, Nagashio Inaba-no-kami Ujitsugu, participated in the Onin War on the side of the Hosokawa clan and was killed in battle along with Mototsuna Yasutomi and others.
・The location of the Battle of Luodian Town is about a 40-minute drive from the vicinity of Jing'an Temple in Jing'an District, where I used to live.
🔸12th Infantry Regiment: Memoirs of the Fierce Battle in Shanghai
https://www.heiwakinen.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/archive/library/roukunote/onketsu/01/O_01_019_1.pdf
Memoirs
https://www.heiwakinen.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/archive/library/roukunote/onketsu/01/O_01_283_1.pdf
🔸Events of 1937, the year my grandfather passed away
🔸Date of inquiry to Marugame City Hall
May 15, 2025, in the morning
🔸Contact information
Marugame City Hall, Cultural Properties and Museum (inside Marugame Castle)
Tel: 0877-22-5366
🔸Inquiry details
① The current location of the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch, where my grandfather, who died in his 20s during the Second Sino-Japanese War, spent his final moments on October 20, 1937
② My grandfather's war death records (unit affiliation, did he go to China after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War? Circumstances of his death)
🔸Date of Response
Afternoon of May 15, 2025
🔸Content of Response
① Where is the current location of the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch?
Currently, it is around the area where the Civic Hall is being built.
Around 2-chome, Ote-machi, Marugame City, near the Civic Plaza.
There are no stone monuments or memorials.
The Marugame Branch was a hospital for the 12th Regiment, which belonged to the 11th Division.
As a reference, I was introduced to pages 155 to 159 of the Modern History section of the Marugame City History, Volume 3.
[Marugame Civic Hall] Total project cost of 14 billion yen for the "New Marugame Civic Hall"; safety prayer ceremony held for completion by the end of March 2026, Kagawa.
🔸The location where the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch once stood. It is around the area where the Civic Hall is currently under construction.
The location where the Zentsuji Army Hospital Marugame Branch once stood
Answer:
(2) I do not know the records of the war dead. If you inquire at the Gokoku Shrine in Zentsuji City or the Nogi Museum, there might be records remaining regarding the circumstances of his death.
🔸Next Action
I will inquire about my grandfather's war death records at:
The Nogi Museum in Zentsuji City
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Zentsuji Garrison Museum
The Gokoku Shrine in Zentsuji City
to make inquiries.
Did he participate in the Second Sino-Japanese War?
Did he go to China?
If he did go, where in China did he go?
Was it Luodian Town in the Baoshan District of Shanghai?
What was the reason for his death?
(It is said he died of illness, but details are unknown)
・Nogi-kan: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Zentsuji Garrison Museum
・Kagawa Prefecture Gokoku Shrine
🔸Documents required for military service record application (former Imperial Army military service) in Kagawa Prefecture and contact information
Contact:
-
Kagawa Prefectural Government, Health and Welfare Department, Longevity Society Policy Division, General Affairs and Relief Group
Phone number: 087-832-3277
Address: 4-1-10 Bancho, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture 760-8570
・Kagawa Prefectural Government Website
Regarding the issuance of copies of former Imperial Army military service records
Military service records for former Imperial Army personnel and civilian employees are kept by the prefecture where their registered domicile was located at the time the war ended.
These materials are personal information, and to protect them, information is provided only after verifying the identity of the former military personnel or civilian employee themselves, or their relatives.
We will conduct a search after receiving the necessary documents, but please be aware that in some cases, the information may not be confirmed in the materials held by this department.
Applications for military service records can, in principle, only be made by the individual themselves (former military personnel, etc.) if they are alive, or by relatives under the Civil Code* if the individual is deceased.
*Relatives under the Civil Code... blood relatives within the 6th degree of kinship, spouses, and relatives by affinity within the 3rd degree of kinship (Article 725 of the Civil Code)
Documents required when applying
🔹 Application form
Application for Provision of Information Regarding Military Service, Separate Form 1 (Word: 19KB)
🔹 Copies of two types of documents that can verify the identity of the requester
My Number card, driver's license, passport, health insurance card, etc.
🔹 Family register (koseki) or original family register (kaisei gen-koseki), etc. (original) that can verify that the requester is a relative of the former military personnel, etc., under the Civil Code
This includes documents that can verify a name change due to marriage, etc.
🔹 Copy of the family register (joseki tohon), etc. (original) that can verify the date of death of the former military personnel, etc.
Costs
If you wish to have copies of the materials, the cost will be borne by the applicant. (10 yen per sheet)
Points to note:
Military service records of the former Imperial Navy are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Please contact the Research Materials Office, Business Division, Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Phone: 03-5253-1111, ext. 3484), not the Kagawa Prefectural Government.
Please be sure to contact the General Affairs and Relief Group of the Longevity Society Division at the Kagawa Prefectural Government by phone in advance regarding the availability of documents and the specific required paperwork.
It may take some time for documents to be issued.
In principle, applications are limited to the individual themselves or relatives under the Civil Code (blood relatives within the 6th degree, spouses, and relatives by affinity within the 3rd degree).
With the above in mind, please first inquire with the General Affairs and Relief Group of the Longevity Society Division, Department of Health and Welfare, Kagawa Prefectural Government.
🔸 What information can be found in a military service record?
The information available in a military service record varies depending on the purpose of the application and the scope of the stored information, but generally, the following information is recorded.
Basic Information:
Name (including legal name and records of name changes due to transfers)
Date of birth
Registered domicile (Honseki-chi)
Date of enlistment
Final rank
Unit name and history of unit affiliations
Records of transfers and reassignments
History of injuries and illnesses
Records regarding medals and achievements (partial)
Date of discharge and reason for discharge
Date of death, place of death (in the case of war casualties)
Information that may be included depending on the case:
Educational background and occupation at the time of enlistment
Results of physical examinations
Records regarding disciplinary actions
Records regarding pensions (detailed information is listed in documents such as the Pension Award Notice)
Records of overseas deployment, destination of deployment
Points to note:
**Not all information is comprehensively recorded.** Due to the chaos during wartime or the loss of documents, records may be incomplete or some information may be missing.
For some units, detailed operational actions or individual service histories are often not recorded.
Military service records of the former Navy were managed by a different agency than the Army, so they are not included in Army military service certificates.
Military service certificates are issued based on records from that time and do not guarantee the accuracy of their contents.
Main uses of military service certificates:
Support for bereaved families of war casualties and pension applications
Confirmation of the individual's past background
Historical research and investigation
If you wish to know more detailed information, you may need to inquire at war history museums or relevant institutions, using the unit name listed in the military service record as a clue.
🔸 [Family History] Tracing the records of my grandfather who died in the war before my father was born. What were the results of applying for military service records at the Kagawa Prefectural Office and inquiring at the Nogi Museum within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in Zentsuji City?
🔸 Profile of Yoshinari Mori
Business English Instructor, National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter (English/Chinese), Overseas Business Consultant
Born in Kobe, raised in Kagawa Prefecture. Studied marketing at a university business school in the United States.
Work History:
Engaged in overseas sales for 20 years at a major electronics company (Director of Beijing Office)
Participated in the establishment of a foreign-affiliated trading company in Hong Kong and China, served as Vice President, and later as an Advisor
Overseas Residency History:
USA: 2 years
Singapore: 2 years
China: 12 years
Belgium: 1 month
Current Activities:
Representative of Bizconsul Office
Business English Instructor, National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter (English/Chinese), Overseas Business Consultant
Certified Instructor for Japan Tourism Agency Inbound Training
Member of Shikoku Pilgrimage Interpreter Guide Association
Trilingual Sanuki PR Officer
Qualifications:
English: National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter, Eiken Grade 1, TOEIC L&R: 965 (Perfect score in Listening), TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), UN Associations Test of English Grade A, Business English Proficiency Test Grade A
Chinese: National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter, Kagawa Setouchi Regional Licensed Guide Interpreter, HSK Level 6
Tourism: Certified Travel Services Manager (General), Certified Travel Services Manager (Domestic), Domestic Travel Itinerary Manager, Setouchi Island Travel Guide
Media Achievements:
Interview article published in Kagawa Prefecture public relations magazine 'THE Kagawa'
Comments on Setonaikai Broadcasting (KSB) news program
Comments on Okayama Broadcasting (OHK) news program
Training/Consulting Achievements:
Lectured as a Japan Tourism Agency certified inbound training instructor (Zentsuji City Hall, Seiyo City accommodation facilities in Ehime Prefecture, etc.)
Consultant for Shikoku District Transport Bureau projects (survey on rental car usage by foreign tourists, adventure tourism, etc.)
Official guide for the Setouchi Triennale official tour hosted by Kagawa Prefecture
Interviewer for the Kagawa Setouchi Regional Licensed Guide Interpreter inbound training instructor certification exam
