Hello everyone. Without further or due here is my Japanese display that I have in my room of all places. I am using US Army travel trunks that my Grandpa picked up during the Korean War as display tables and I put some covers that look like bamboo on top of them. Anyway I have been trying to get representative pieces of weapons, gear, and flags that the typical Japanese soldier would've had during the war. This small flag that has kanji on it I picked up at our last decent show last month and I absolutely love it:
-
-
The helmet on the left I bought from a Navy corpsman who picked this up on Okinawa. He had told me that the helmet originally had a star but had broken off at some point during one of his moves. I found a placeholder until I can get a real star to put back on it. The helmet on the right is a late war IJN helmet that was converted and reissued by Thailand. Luckily they didn't scrub the bottom part of the anchor and didn't scrub the painted kanji under the rim. Both helmets are shells unfortunately but they are all I've been able to afford for now. The map case and photo came together along with the top bayonet. The bottom bayonet with the frog came from a Coast Guard vet along with the middle arisaka on the next picture. The top arisaka is my four digit serial number series 24 Kokura that is all matching and has the original wings, rod, and monopod. The middle arisaka is an all matching series 7 Nagoya with all original parts. The vet I bought these from pulled the rifle after the mum had been scrubbed but before the bolt was separated. He also took the early war Nagoya bayonet with frog as well and I ended up buying both of them from him for $250 (which is what he wanted for both). The bottom arisaka is a no series Tokyo arsenal type 38 that became a school rifle. It has a serial number a little over 500,000 so it is an early one. It is mismatched but only the bolt and dust cover are mismatched (but they match each other) and everyone knows my type 94 by now so no introduction there I guess. -
The flag hanging is not made of silk but is a much rougher material. The loops holding it up are like winded rope. The canteen and tunic I picked up together from the son of a vet who got these as a part of the occupation. The sword was a gift from one of my mom's coworkers at the VA. His father was a marine and picked the sword up on Tarawa. The condition is pretty bad (it being stored poorly in attics since the late 40s) but it has matching numbers and I think it is cool as heck. The flag that is framed is my most fragile flag but has a cool story with it. I bought it from this little old gentleman who was living near New Orleans who was a Marine during WW2. He told me he picked it up either in the Philippines or Okinana (he couldn't remember which one but he did know he was on both islands). He pulled it from a dead Japanese soldier's backpack and stuck it in his own.Comment
-
Finally there is this large silk meatball flag that I bought from a coworker of mine. His grandfather brought this flag home and some of his squad had signed it with their addresses for him. My coworker needed some extra money and offered to sell me this flag even though I told him it was meant to stay with his family. He told me no one really wanted it because it was so big and fragile that they didn't want anyone tearing it any more than it already has been. So that so far is my Japanese display. Hope everyone enjoyed it and all comments are welcome.Comment
-
Nice start
The NCO sword might not be the prettiest but in many ways it beats some of them that are in mint condition.......you have the story behind it.
Two of my earliest Japanese items are a bayonet in horrible condition and a helmet shell from the Collector's Armory. They are for all intents and purposes worthless but I wouldn't sell them for the world.
EricComment
-
I know what you mean about not being able to sell something. The NCO is something I can't sell because I made a promise to the gentleman who gave it to me not to sell it. Also I love buying items from the vets and their families because I can hear their stories and hear how they got their pieces along with their service. Coming from a very long line of military men dating back to the Revolution I cherish and honor each piece I receive from a veteran or from their family, especially if they were a marine since the marines are near and dear to my heart (with my dad and one of my grandpas being marines in Vietnam and one of my great uncles being a marine during WW2). Japanese items in my neck of the woods are very tough to come across in terms of flags and gear. The firearms are even showing up less and less. I think all the better items have been picked over and what's left is too high priced for what they are. I think I must've bought every piece of some quality in my area over the past two years it seems like but I'll keep trying to find more to add to the collection.Comment
-
Very nice. Great idea with the bamboo.Looking for a 30 '06 Chauchat magazine.Comment
-
Thanks Jeff. Sadly the bamboo wasn't my idea but rather it was my mom's idea to use the fabric which looked like bamboo for my display. She had some extra from an old project and thought about me when I was first making up my display. I think the repurposing of my grandpa's military trunks was the neatest and for me cheapest route for display tables. They were just being used for storage in my attic and now they are being put to great use.Comment
Comment