X5 IJN NAGATO COAT- USN SOUVENIER

[BEAST]

First of all, sorry if I posted this in the wrong section. Please feel free to move into a more appropriate forum.

 

About 10 years, I was selling somee items at a flea market, when a guy stopped and asked if I was interested in buying some military stuff. He was downsizing his home and wanted to get rid of a few things. I ended up with a WWI French helmet and WWI USN manuals that belonged to his father. Then he brought out this coat. The vet told me that at the end of the war, he was detailed aboard the Japanese ship NAGATO. He was part of a team that was to get the ship ready to sail again, to be used later as a target for atomic bomb test (Operation Crossroads).

 

NAGATO was Yamamoto's flag ship for the attack on Pearl Harbor. On 25 July 1946, as part of the test, she was badly damaged by an underwater explosion and sank 5 days later.

 

The coat is missing its buttons but is overall good shape. The vet painted his name and the name of the ship on the back. I am trying to get the insignia translated.

 

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

Very cool! I like it !

 

I have a " Surrender Participation Certificate" given by the USN for the capture of the Nagato in my collection.

 

Kurt

 

[cbuehler]

That is a Japanese navy uniform with the unit code and name. I dont have my Japanese dictionary handy, but it looks like "Osawa" or "Gosawa". the only thing I am sure of right now it the botton Kanji which is sawa. This is his family name.

The IJN used to put these various name and unit patches on either side of the jacket breast in the later stages of the war. They varied considerably. The top left looks like number 3 shift or something like that.

Even though there is nothing written on the patch to indicate service on the Nagato, one would assume that it came from that ship. But of course its impossible to be sure. The buttons would have been the gold colored metal navy type with the blossom and anchor. All Japanese naval personnel were wearing these off green colored uniforms towards the later part of the war, including those aboard ship.

That is a vary interesting historical item there!

 

CB

[cbuehler]

I made a mistake. It looks like 2 shift and not 3 in the upper left corner. Also, the red stripe means Petty Officer! These colored codes were often used in place of the rank insignia.

 

CB

[cbuehler]

I have it! the upper left is Nitto for petty officer 2nd class and the name below is, I believe, Gyosawa.

A super jacket that I would hold on to very jealously!

 

CB

[BEAST]

Kurt, Thanks for posting that great certificate! I have never seen one like that.

 

CB, Thanks for posting the translation! I really didn't want to have to take it to a local Japanese restaurant (I would like the sushi combo, a cup of tea and a WWII translation please!).

 

What do you mean by a 2 or 3 shift?

[QED4]

It is very difficult to have WWII Japanese translated, the language has changed significantly. There were actually two languages or dialects for the upper and lower classes and now there is only one. Also how it is written has changed, books were written back to front and the pages top to bottom, now it is front to back and side to side like the rest of the world. If you find an older, well educated person they can usually give you a general translation but many of the younger people can't figure it out. It is like us reading Chaucer in the original Old English

[cbuehler]

Beast,

The upper left is for petty officer 2nd class. I was in error in my earlier post.

QED4 is not quite correct regarding Japanese. I studied the language for 3 years and have been to Japan 10 times. While many Kanji have been simplified since the war, most Japanese are still familiar with the older styles. There is no difference in the written language between the social classes and the language can and has been written either left, right or vertically for ages. The usage in written form has changed somewhat, making it more difficult for young Japanese to read older books or letters etc., but they still can do so.

BTW, do you know any more about the history of this jacket? Did you get it from the vet?

 

 

CB

[BEAST]

Beast,

The upper left is for petty officer 2nd class. I was in error in my earlier post.

QED4 is not quite correct regarding Japanese. I studied the language for 3 years and have been to Japan 10 times. While many Kanji have been simplified since the war, most Japanese are still familiar with the older styles. There is no difference in the written language between the social classes and the language can and has been written either left, right or vertically for ages. The usage in written form has changed somewhat, making it more difficult for young Japanese to read older books or letters etc., but they still can do so.

BTW, do you know any more about the history of this jacket? Did you get it from the vet?

CB

 

CB,

Thanks for clarifying the rank on the jacket. Yes I did get it from the vet. His name was Vernon Ooley. Both he and his father served in the Navy. His father served during the first World War. I bought some manuals, a WWI French helmet and a kerchief that belonged to his Dad. The only thing that Vernon had that he would part with was this coat.

 

I had thought about replacing the buttons, but since this is the way that I received it from the vet, I will probably keep it that way.

 

Thanks again for your info!

[Guest tokyocollector]

Wow, nice piece! You are lucky to live in a country where you can still make these kind of finds! In Japan it is getting hard to find anything like this. The officer was called Yanagisawa by the way, a not uncommon Japanese surname. I think it would be possible to track him or his descendants down through a good Japanese veteran association.

 

The last time I found anything in a junk sale it was helmet (just the steel pot) that the seller asked 40 USD for. Quite steep in my eyes.

 

Keep it up!

[BEAST]

Souveniers from the Nagato that are being shown in the new Spoils fo War forum reminded me of this coat that I bought many years ago. I posted it a few years ago and thought I would bring it back to the top.

[kammo-man]

Very nice item !

 

owen

[mvmhm]

I was going to say that tag said "Made in Japan".....but anyhoo.....the idea of taking it to a Japanese eatery isn't that far fetched....we have a thing each year in Dayton called "A World "Affaire", where different ethinic groups cook, do dancing, crafts, etc. There are always these two little Japanese women who will paint your name in Kanji for a couple of bucks. I've taken several signed flags in and they had no problem translating them for me.....

 

Mark sends

[Patriot12]

I love the trophies that identify the vet that brought them back. This is great vet art.