The Supreme Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy (Japanese: 大元帥陸海軍大将, romanized: Dai-gensui-riku-kai-gun-taishō) was the highest rank of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1872 to 1945, when the Empire of Japan was dissolved. The rank was only ever held by the Emperor of Japan as commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and, separately, the highest-ranking officer in each of the military branches. It formally became obsolete in 1947 when the Imperial Japanese military was abolished. Source: Wikipedia (en)