Hello, I'm posting this to see if I can't find more information on these alleged dogtags. They've been in my family for years and I'm curious as to what more information I can find on them. If they aren't dogtags, what might they be? Here's the pic:
It looks like they're curved, maybe to fit on a wrist? I found similar ones on ebay and they were flat, maybe souvenirs made into a bracelet ORIGINAL WWII JAPANESE DOG TAG USMC VET BRING BACK on eBay (end time 01-Jul-10 02:44:53 BST)
Nobody My first port of call would be an e-mail sent to the Japanese Embassy (Cultural Division) attaching the image and asking if they could kindly identify the object. Ron
They certainly are Jap tags (I'm presuming they're brass, though they can be encountered in steel)....'Ninshikihyo'. They're of the officially issued 1894 pattern which continued to be worn from then to beyond 1945. The official way of wear was on a tape across the chest (running from shoulder to waist) so, as mentioned previously, it looks like they've been deliberately bent to make a bracelet. Dave
...here're 3 of mine. The one in the centre is brass and the two outside are steel (the one on the left being from a Chemical Warfare detachment - dug up in China!)
Thanks for the replies! I'm gonna go see if I can't get it translated somehow. I've always wondered what's written on them.
I've always wondered what's written on them. Translations are beyond me,I'm afraid, but I can tell you that Other Ranks tags had 3 rows of inscriptions ...unit name, company number and serial (personal) number. Officer tags had two rows only...rank and full name....so it would appear that all yours originate from Japanese enlisted men. The attached may help a little (from 'How the Jap Army fights' (1943)... Dave
The official way of wear was on a tape across the chest (running from shoulder to waist) To illustrate...
