12th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

12th Division
Type 4 15-cm howitzer at site former IJA 12th Division HQ at Kokura Castle
Active	1 October 1898 – 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Size	25,000 men
Garrison/HQ	Kokura, Japan
Nickname(s)	Broadsword Division
Engagements	Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Ando Sadami Uchiyama Kojiro Oi Shigemoto Shiba Goro Hajime Sugiyama Otozo Yamada Masakazu Kawabe

The 12th Division (第12師団, Dai Jūni Shidan) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the Broadsword Division (剣兵団, Ken-heidan), and its military symbol was 12D. The 12th Division was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). The division received its colors on 1 October 1898 and disbanded in September 1945. Its troops were recruited primarily from communities in the northern portion of the island of Kyūshū^[1] and it was originally headquartered within Kokura Castle (now part of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka)