IJA Life Vest (W-Type)

Hello.
Today, I would like to introduce the W-type life vest used by the Imperial Japanese Army.

Army troops waiting to board transport ships.
While it is well known that the Navy had the Rikusen-tai（陸戦隊）, it is surprisingly less known that the Army had its own troop ships, famously called the Akatsuki Unit（暁部隊）.

Ship Command and the Akatsuki Unit were the Army organizations that commanded and controlled the transport of troops, supplies, and other materials by ship during wartime, was commonly known as the “Akatsuki Unit” from the unit designation character “暁” (Akatsuki) assigned to each unit.

The Japanese Army, which had long held a strong interest in amphibious warfare, put landing craft (small motor boats (Shōhatsu) and large motor boats (Daihatsu)) into practical use in the 1920s. Furthermore, in the 1930s, it developed special ships serving as landing ships (such as the Shinshū Maru and Akitsu Maru). These demonstrated their effectiveness and played an active role in various amphibious assaults during the First Shanghai Incident and the China Incident (Sino-Japanese War). At the time, only a portion of the engineers (referred to as “Ship Engineers” or “Landing Engineers”) operated these naval weapons in actual combat. However, as the Pacific War (Greater East Asia War) intensified, they became an independent branch of service as Ship Troops in 1943 (the branch classification itself had been abolished in 1940). Not all Army units operating ships became part of the Ship Troops; some continued as engineers.

In the latter stages of the Pacific War, to instill pride in the personnel of the Ship Troops alongside the Air Troops, the Ship Badge was established on May 9, 1944. Its design featured an anchor, chain, and star emblem on a dark blue base. All officers and enlisted personnel belonging to ship-related units wore it on the right chest of their uniforms.

Early Emblem

Now, let's take a look at the W-type life vest.

Original

This life vest was primarily worn by ship's crew and troops embarking for amphibious assaults.

Now, please take a look at the one we produced this time.

Since the life vest's flat pattern included a sketch of the pouch, we also recreated the pouch.

Additionally, we made a cap for ship's crew soldiers.

Please also view the video.

特幹船舶兵｜時代｜NHKアーカイブス

Next time, we'd like to introduce a reenactor wearing this W-type life vest.
 

Until next time.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

HACHIMAKI

How are you all doing?
Today, I'd like to introduce you to the Japanese HACHIMAKI.

A “HACHIMAKI” (鉢巻) is a long, narrow cloth or cord worn on the head, primarily in Japan, to aid in mental focus and boost fighting spirit. The term literally means “head bowl wrap.”

From the mid-Kamakura period onward, samurai wore HACHIMAKI during combat. 
They fastened the HACHIMAKI over their eboshi cap(烏帽子) and then placed their helmet(兜-Kabuto) on top. This helped stabilize the helmet's crown.
 

Both the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy wore HACHIMAKI during wartime.

Hachimaki were not issued by the government; they were given directly to troops by superiors or others.
Others were made by female students who drew the Hinomaru with blood.

The material was silk or cotton.

Hideo Oishi, departing for the Chongqing Bombing—a large-scale air raid repeatedly conducted from December 1938 to September 1941 during the Sino-Japanese War.

He was a member of a medium land-based attack squadron, wearing a HACHIMAKI featuring the warship flag (Rising Sun flag) distributed to boost morale.

Upon close inspection, the Hachimaki he wears has a red cloth base.

reproduction

This one has a white cloth base.

For Japanese people, the HACHIMAKI is something they particularly want to wear when they want to get pumped up or unite as one.

Typically, it is wrapped directly around the head, with the flight helmet worn over it.

As they headed toward special attacks, photographs of them wearing the Hachimaki became more frequent.
 

Some included favorite phrases.

That's all for today.

Until next time.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

Reenactor ～002～

Hello. 
Today, we received reenactment photos from Mr. Z.W. in the UK, which we are pleased to share. 

These photos were taken at an event held recently at Military Odyssey in Maidstone, Kent, UK.  

Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Corps Pilot

This scarf is inspired by the Fuyou Unit.

芙蓉の花  Cotton rose hibiscus

The “ Fuyou Unit ” was the common name for a unit formed in January 1945 when the 901st Fighter Squadron, 812th Fighter Squadron, and 804th Fighter Squadron—night fighter units belonging to the Combined Fleet—were reassembled at Fujieda Naval Air Base (present-day JASDF Shizuhama Air Base). Its official designation was the 131st Air Group

Crew members assigned to the Fuyou Unit wore light pink scarves, the color of the Cotton rose hibiscus flower.

芙蓉部隊 指揮官　美濃部 正 少佐

Fuyou Unit Commander  Major Tadashi Minobe

Major Minobe named it thus because Mount Fuji was clearly visible from Fujieda Base (now Japan Air Self-Defense Force Shizuhama Base) in Shizuhama Village, Shida District, Shizuoka Prefecture (present-day Yaizu City), which served as the unit's base.

He is often portrayed as having resisted the military high command's policy of all-out special attacks and refused to carry them out. However, there are differing accounts regarding the reality of his actions. He devised various special attack operations, instructed units under his command in their training even before the formation of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps, and actually ordered sorties for special attacks.

Minobe, then 29 years old, commanded approximately 1,000 personnel.

At a Navy meeting in late February 1945 at Kisarazu Base, where the decision for special attacks in the Okinawa campaign was finalized, he argued before the assembled senior officers that sending inexperienced pilots on successive suicide missions offered no chance of victory. He contended that rigorous training followed by night attacks would be more effective.

"None of our young pilots fear death. But mere empty slogans about mental fortitude alone cannot inspire them to stand up with true courage. If we must die, I ask that you provide us with a method that offers a reasonable chance of success."
(Minobe Tadashi, “A Taisho Child's Account of the Pacific War”)
 

According to Major Minobe's memoirs, their training was three times as rigorous as that of the special attack units.
Military officers inspected this demanding training regimen.
Furthermore, their reconnaissance efforts in gathering information on American forces were recognized. Consequently, an unusual change was made: the unit was excluded from the special attack squadron formation.

Fuyou Unit officers just before advancing to Kanoya Air Base. Center front is Minobe; to Minobe's left is Captain Masashi Tokura, flight leader of Combat Squadron 812; to his right is Captain Eiichi Kawabata, flight leader of Combat Squadron 804. Photographed at Fujieda Air Base on March 30, 1945.

The first contingent of the Fuyo Unit assembled at Kanoya Air Base to serve in the Battle of Okinawa. The person in the center of the second row from the front, wearing no hat and an American flight jacket, is Minobe. The photograph was taken on either April 1 or 4, 1945. The leather flight jacket he wears was given to him by an American POW in the Solomon Islands.

The exhibition booth displays equipment he collected and fighter aircraft outer panels.

The writing on the blackboard was completed after being rewritten many times.

Flight computer

Also on display are felt receivers, flight helmets, and Aerial Battle Models (wooden).

Aerial Battle Model（wooden）
●A6M

●Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Fighter aircraft outer panels

Window sock

Memo board and comfort doll

Japanese Army and Navy reenactors operating in the UK 

He is currently the only IJAN pilot reenactor in the UK.
We talked about many things, so I know the effort he puts into his reenactments. That made me feel like I was building the base alongside him, which was really enjoyable.
His passion for reenactment, driven by a desire to convey something, truly warms my heart.

Thank you for sharing these great photos.

That's all for today.

See you soon.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

Comfort dolls (good-luck charm dolls)

Hello.
How are you all?

Today, I would like to write about “Comfort dolls” that were sent (or given) to soldiers going to war.

Although they are not military equipment, I believe that they are indispensable and must not be forgotten when reenacting.

Soldiers smiling at the comfort dolls

I have been studying various kinds of military equipment, but I had not paid much attention to these dolls. However, when I look at soldiers, I see many photos of them wearing dolls from that time.

It is said that schoolgirls and women made them with their hearts and sent them in comfort bags（慰問袋 imon-bukuro) to soldiers fighting in the war.
Thus, each handmade doll seems to have a soul. These dolls have various names such as “comfort dolls（慰問人形 imon-ningyo),” “good-luck charm dolls（お守り人形 omamori-ningyo),” “mascot dolls（マスコット人形 masukotto-ningyo),” and “ special attack dolls（特攻人形 tokko-ningyo),” but one cannot help but feel the wish that “the soldiers will be safe” and "good luck will continue to flow to them.

There are still news videos about the comfort dolls of those days.

①

愛国女子団の慰問人形製作＜銃後から戦線へ＞｜ニュース｜NHKアーカイブス

②

慰問人形に喜ぶ中支陸鷲勇士＜戦線通信＞｜ニュース｜NHKアーカイブス

③

勇士に捧ぐ　銃後の赤誠｜ニュース｜NHKアーカイブス

When you think of Japanese good luck charms（御守り omamori), you may easily imagine a small bag-shaped object, but I feel deeply touched by the idea of daring to give something in the shape of a person, just like the origins of the kanji（漢字) for “doll（人形）”.

These comfort bags were started by women who learned that soldiers in war zones were fighting for their lives under harsh conditions and wanted to heal and encourage them (activities spread mainly through women's groups such as the National Defense Women's Association　国防婦人会).
The bags were sent with not only dolls, but also letters, daily necessities such as soap, caramels, belly wraps, and gloves, foodstuffs, medicine, and other items.

Let's take a look at some photos from those days.

I could only show you the photos of the airmen here, but of course, they were actually comfort dolls for all soldiers.

A scene from the TV drama series “The Pacific”

After the special attack teams began their special attack missions, female students and their relatives would give them directly to the troops to take with them before they went out on their missions.

There are many photos of the soldiers with their dolls in the triangular barracks（三角兵舎) where they slept in the days leading up to the sortie.

A special attack soldier holding a comfort doll sent by female students from all over the country at the Triangle Barracks（三角兵舎).

Troops sleeping in the triangular barracks on the eve of a sortie.
The mascot doll will be hung in the plane tomorrow and fly out together.

In the memoirs of a female student who became a caretaker of the special attack team, the doll is often mentioned.

In the journal of a female student who was a caretaker of a special attack unit, she often wrote: "Among the dignified brothers' beloved planes, various dolls are swaying in the wind as if waiting for today's sortie.

One of the squadron members told me that of the two dolls, one was hung on his beloved plane and the other on his flight watch."

Dolls of the time

I think these dolls are a direct reflection of the personality of the person who made them. If I had a doll from those days right in front of me, there is no way I, or anyone else of course, could recreate it. That is why the recipients could not help but feel something.

I want to believe that their hearts were saved, even if only a little.

This is one of the dolls my wife handmade for Reenactor.
It contains a wish that the recipient's good health and peace of mind will be protected for a long time.

That's all for today.

See you soon.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

IJN Late Type Flight Helmet（Curled fur）

How are you all doing?

Today we would like to introduce you to IJN's late model winter flight helmets with curled fur.

Squadron Officer, 1st Squadron  Lieutenant‐JG Noriyasu Sato and J2M

He participated in the decisive Battle of the Philippines and was wounded while flying his Mitsubishi 2JM, as part of the 302nd.

If you look at his flight helmet you can see the long, curly fur. Most of the IJN winter flight helmets would have the shorter fur, from rabbit or nutria pelts. The longer, curly fur is said to have come from Angola Goats.

～Reproduction～

Ensign Michihiko Senge

Hyakurihara Naval Air Force（百里原海軍航空隊）in 1945

The white scarf fluffy around his neck was a gift from his father, who was the priest of Izumo Taisha Shrine（出雲大社). It was made by unraveling the white robe worn by his father.

His flight helmet can also be seen with its fur curled.

～Reproduction～

original

original

original

～Hinomaru Hachimaki～

～Scarf as a mask～

Well, that's all for today!

See you then.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com