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Japan. An ally in WW1 but a savage enemy in WW2. |
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Just as there were Japanese-Americans in the U.S. Army and people of Japanese descent in other Allied forces, so too some Caucasians served in the Japanese military. Many of these were pre-war military advisors or instructors who were commissioned as officers when war broke out. This Tai-i - Dai-i (Captain) is wearing tropical service dress while on a training mission to one of the many Japanese outposts in the Pacific rim. His officer-issue "Katana" (ceremonial sword) bears the copper & blue cords and tassels of a company-grade officer. These are often mistakenly referred to as Samurai swords. |
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spite of the myths that have grown up about World War II
"Samurai" swords being hand-made family heirlooms hundreds of
years old the truth of the matter is that most Officers carried mass
produced models that were made in the 1930s and early 1940s. Even those
(very few) Officers with links to the ancient Samurai families did not, as
a general rule, carry family heirlooms into battle.
The badge on his right breast pocket shows that he is a graduate of the Imperial Army Staff College. The tab hanging from his left breast pocket shows the captain's rank.
Hanging from his dress belt with officers' rising-sun buckle is a clam-shell leather holster containing his 7-mm Type B "Baby" Nambu pistol. Only 6 and a half inches long, the Baby Nambu was preferred by many Imperial Japanese officers over the much larger and heavier standard-issue Type 14. In the field he wears his well worn officer pattern high boots. |
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