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{{short description|Japanese general}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Iwaichi Fujiwara
|birth_date=March 1, 1908
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1986|02|24|1908|03|01}}
|birth_place=[[Hyōgo Prefecture]], [[Japan]]
|death_place=
|image=Fujiwara Iwaichi.jpg
|caption=Iwaichi Fujiwara as IJA officer
|nickname=
|alma_mater=[[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]] [[Army War College (Japan)|Army Staff College]]
|allegiance={{flag|Japan|1870}}
|branch=[[File:War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army.svg|22x20px|border]] [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
 [[File:Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.svg|22x20px|border]] [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]]
|serviceyears=1931–1945 (IJA) 1954–1964 (JGSDF)
|rank=[[File:帝國陸軍の階級―襟章―中佐.svg|28px]] [[Lieutenant Colonel]] (IJA) [[File:JGSDF Lieutenant General insignia (b).svg|25px]] [[Lieutenant General]] (JGSDF)
|commands=[[F Kikan]] [[1st Division (Japan)|1st Division of JGSDF]]
|unit=
|battles= [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] [[World War II]]
|awards=
|family=
|laterwork=
}}

{{family name hatnote|Fujiwara|lang=Japanese}}
{{nihongo|''' Iwaichi Fujiwara'''|藤原岩市|Fujiwara Iwaichi|extra=March 1, 1908 − February 24, 1986}} was an officer in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] in [[World War II]], and later a [[lieutenant general]] in the post-war [[Japan Ground Self Defense Force]].

==Biography==
A native of [[Hyōgo prefecture]], Fujiwara graduated from the 43rd class of the [[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]] in 1931 and was assigned to the IJA 37th Infantry Regiment. After serving a tour of duty in [[Tianjin]], [[China]], he returned to the [[Army War College (Japan)|Army Staff College]] and graduated from the 50th class in 1938, whereupon he was assigned to the [[Twenty-First Army (Japan)|IJA 21st Army]].

In 1939, Fujiwara was transferred to the [[military intelligence]] unit within the [[Imperial Japanese Army General Staff]], tasked with planning operations in south and [[Southeast Asia]]. He traveled to [[Bangkok]] in 1941, and joined the Japanese [[Southern Expeditionary Army Group]] as [[Chief of staff (military)|Chief of Staff]] the same year. In 1941 Fujiwara established the [[F Kikan]], a Japanese special operations unit, which was tasked with developing and assisting independence movements in [[British India]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]] and [[Netherlands East Indies]]. In 1943, Fujiwara and his unit were transferred to the [[Fifteenth Army (Japan)|IJA 15th Army]]. F-Kikan greatly assisted in the establishment of the [[Indian National Army]].

Knowing of the long struggle of the Dutch to subdue [[Aceh]] province in northern [[Sumatra]], and the ongoing resistance of the Acehnese period against Dutch rule, Fujiwara was ordered to make contact with the Aceh independence movements preparatory to the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands Indies. One of his first contacts was [[Sahid Abu Bakar]], a religious teacher who lived in [[Kedah]], who assisted him in recruiting a small organization to gather military intelligence, secure supplies, spread pro-Japanese propaganda, and to hinder Dutch efforts to sabotage local infrastructure. He also made contact with [[:id:Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh|PUSA]], the Islamic nationalist organization in Aceh, to start an armed rebellion. On the night of 11 March 1942, F-Kikan operatives and PUSA irregulars captured the Aceh capital of [[Banda Aceh]]. Thus, when the [[Imperial Guard of Japan|Japanese Imperial Guard Division]] landed the following morning, the city was already in Japanese hands.<ref name="Axis History Forum">[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=116019 Axis History Forum]{{Better source needed|date=June 2022}}</ref>

Fujiwara subsequently served as Intelligence Officer on the staff of Fifteenth Army in Burma. He reconnoitered much of the northern part of the country in preparation for [[Operation U-Go]], the offensive into [[British India]]. Following the failure of this offensive, almost all the staff of Fifteenth Army were transferred, although Fujiwara was the last to be reassigned, in December 1944.<ref>Louis Allen, ''Burma: The Longest War'', p. 386</ref>

After his recall to Japan, Fujiwara taught at the [[Army War College (Japan)|Army Staff College]] for a year, and was then transferred back to the field as Chief of Staff of the [[Japanese Second Army|IJA 2nd Army]] in April 1945 and [[Fifty-Seventh Army (Japan)|IJA 57th Army]] in June 1945. He was based in [[Singapore]] at the end of the war.

Fujiwara was one of the few officers of the Imperial Japanese Army to make the transition to the postwar Japan [[Ground Self-Defense Force]], commanding the Home Defense Force in 1955, and the 1st District Corps -Tokyo (predecessor of [[1st Division (Japan)|1st Division]]) in 1956, before his retirement as [[lieutenant general]] in 1964.<ref name="Axis History Forum"/>

Later in life, Fujiwara authored the book ''F. Kikan: Japanese Army Intelligence Operations in Southeast Asia during World War II,'' in which he described himself as the “[[T.E. Lawrence|Lawrence of Arabia]] of Southeast Asia”.

==In popular culture==
In the [[Amazon Prime Video]] Original Series ''[[The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye]]'', Iwaichi Fujiwara is portrayed by a London-based Japanese actor [[Junichi Kajioka]]. In the Malaysian 2000 film ''[[Leftenan Adnan]]'' Fujiwara is portrayed by Farid Amirul.

==References==

===Books===
*{{cite book
| last = Lebra
| first = Joyce C.
| year = 1977
| title = Japanese trained Armies in South-East Asia
| publisher = Columbia University Press
| location = New York
| isbn = 0-231-03995-6
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Fay
| first = Peter W.
| year = 1993
| title = The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945
| publisher = University of Michigan Press
| location = Ann Arbor
| isbn = 0-472-08342-2
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Fujiwara
| first = Iwaichi
| year = 1983
| title = F. Kikan: Japanese Army Intelligence Operations in Southeast Asia During World War 11
| publisher = Heinemann
| location =
| isbn = 962-225-072-6
}}

=== Footnotes ===
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7428 Indonesian Volunteers in the Japanese Army]
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1987562 (Book Review)] F. Kikan: Japanese Intelligence Operations in Southeast Asia during World War II. Review author: Edward J. Drea. in ''Military Affairs'', Vol. 49, No. 4. (Oct., 1985), p. 220.

{{Azad Hind Fauj}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara, Iwaichi}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hyōgo Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japan Ground Self-Defense Force generals]]
[[Category:World War II spies for Japan]]
[[Category:Indian National Army]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Military history of Malaya during World War II]]

Iwaichi Fujiwara - Revision history

Bot at 16:49, 25 June 2022