Japanese uniform on e-stand

[Jareth]

You must of misunderstood... rank tabs are original but added post war. There was a tremendous amount of original, unissued surplus tabs in Japan at wars end.

[bratwurstdimsum]

And an unexpected gift from the same lot...

The bloke's name? I'm asian but obviously not asian enough, what does this say in Japanese?

[bratwurstdimsum]

You must of misunderstood... rank tabs are original but added post war. There was a tremendous amount of original, unissued surplus tabs in Japan at wars end.

Okay then, unfortunately being spoilt in German Militaria for many years, it is a lot easier for me to pick out post war stitching from wartime or prewar work on German uniforms, is there any obvious way that these have been added on that clearly shows them up as added postwar?

I don't care either way but I'm here to learn off the masters

[Jareth]

If a tunic appears in mint condition with no obvious signs of wear & has no hand written inked kanji on interior ink block stamp then be suspicious of any insignia. Many collar rank tabs & other insignia were added post war to surplus tunics to enhance their value & increase their appeal. Also, I believe it was previously mentioned that these tropical shirts won't be found with collar tabs but most would of used a single rank tab suspended from one of the top pocket buttons.

[GoForBroke]

Nice macro shots of the material and insignia. As stated by other members, my first 'collector' impression is that the condition of the insignia doesn't match the shirt and that it's too high of a rank on an EM shirt. I have owned officer tunics with orig. rank insignia in this exact same condition but the material of the garment on ALL of them was well worn. The wool officer tunics could take a lot more field use than those cotton shirts so I'd expect to see something not as mint. I too would 'lean' towards these rank tabs as add-ons to the shirt. After seeing your pics, I think they might be late style originals but I'm still a little undecided about that mainly because of the detailed quality of the repros that have been floating around for years and the conflicting levels of condition between the shirt and rank. On your insignia, I see what appears (from the pictures) to be old age and handling but the repros have been out there for a while and some emery paper and creative aging can do wonders. I was hoping the manner in which they are stitched would provide some clues but on inspection, it doesn't convince me either way and the backs are not viewable without cutting them loose. As mentioned, this is all very difficult to determine through pictures alone.

Note: In this case, because of the condition, these insignia might have been added to this shirt post war. But you can't rule out the fact that many front line Japanese officers were well aware that using EM attire, gear, and certain headgear helped them blend in and was an advantage to their survival so I would not assume officer rank like this was never applied to an EM shirt. As collectors we do an exc. job of analyzing and categorizing information and make educated assumptions which often become facts over time. I've done that before and it's cost me some nice acquistiions in the past.

Can't say for sure. All this gets to the point where it's splitting hairs. If you're not acquiring for resale inventory and you're happy with an item, it has a place in your collection, and most of all it appeals to you - then that's the most important thing and that's the essense of collecting. In some cases, it's impossible for 'experts' to definitively 'certify' something 100%. In that case, it's probably on the acceptable side for most people. Hard to put money on the line for purchases these days but you probably won't lose your principle in the long run. Gotta keep it fun however! Thanks for sharing and the opportunity to comment. Hope it helped in some way. Have a great New Years! GFB

[bratwurstdimsum]

Guys, thanks for your great responses, I would have to agree with you on your conclusions.

If the insignia are really add-ons, it works in my favour anyhow as I needed a repro uniform to reenact in so this will do.

Cheers

Jeff

[GoForBroke]

Jeff, As far as the shirt is concerned , it is an original shirt and not a repro. I wouldn't use it for reenacting. You can get repro shirts that more than satisfy the requirements of reenacting.GFB

[imperialjapan]

I think the name of the soldier is pronounced 'Yamata.' Cheers, Rich

[bratwurstdimsum]

I think the name of the soldier is pronounced 'Yamata.' Cheers, Rich

Thanks Rich, I got some more photos of the end of the leggings where the strap is, there appears to be an extra bit of hirigana at the beginning of the name, can you tell me whether that denotes any type of rank or first name?


(3 kanji characters in white)


Manufacturer's markings?
.[/QUOTE]

[imperialjapan]

I'm not sure what the hiragana 'shi' refers to. I'll have to defer to the experts. Cheers, Rich