My
Display Wins First Prize at the
Easter, 2006 was the third time I
have displayed my collection at the Alberta Arms and Cartridge Collectors Association
(AACCA) Spring Gun Show, at the Round-up Centre on the Stampede Grounds here in
Here I am with my award in front of
the display. For some reason people always are ready to take my picture when my
hair is a mess. I am going to have to keep a mirror at my display to be better
ready for such moments. Besides the trophy I got a cheque for $750. The prize
was especially meaningful because they flew in a firearms expert from back
east, Mr. Jim Gooding, to be chief judge.
The weekend after the
Here I am shaking hands with the
President of the HACS upon receiving the Best in Show award. Besides the ribbon
in my hand I am holding a small blue jewelry box. It contained a beautiful gold
pin with a diamond on it, which was first prize.
Here are detail shots of each
display panel and case. The lighting was rather poor in both halls and there
are lots of reflections off the plexiglass, but they will give you a good idea
of how I laid out the display. The first few panels and cases give background
on how the Japanese developed the fanaticism of their soldiers through a total
militarization of society. The first panel focuses on the Imperial Reservists
Association, which brought most men into the military sphere even when they
were not on active service. These photos were taken at the
The corresponding case shows typical
items a man might accumulate through his military service and membership in the
Imperial Reservists Association. Of particular interest here are the marksmanship
record book and badge in the upper right (see the bullseye) and the Imperial
Gift cigarettes in the lower left. The latter were given to men returning from
a campaign, in the case of these specimens from the Nomonhan clash with the
Women and youths were also brought
under military influence through membership in organizations which were led by
Reservists. This panel describes these organizations.
This case shows items relating to
the activities of the women’s and youths’ groups. I think the most interesting
of these are the special merit medal of the Patriotic Women’s Association
(upper left) and the small porcelain doll of a woman wearing a sash like the
one second from left (doll is in the lower centre of photo).
Now we start with the guns. This
panel shows the Type 26 revolver. All the gun panels follow a standard format,
with a historical introduction, summary of strengths and weaknesses and a chart
of basic data.
This year I had four Type 26s in my
display. The top one has the original finish. The second one is a 1930s
Japanese arsenal rework that retained the original checkered grips. The one on
the right (pointing left) is a rework on which the grips were replaced with
horizontally grooved panels. The fourth one is in rather poor condition but
serves to show the gun’s most striking feature, the swing-out sideplate. Each
case of guns contains items from the period in which the guns were the state of
the art. In this case, for example, there are medals from the Sino-Japanese War
(1894-95), Boxer Rebellion (1900) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-05).
The Japanese had some interesting
traditions relating to the send-off and subsequent support of their troops.
This panel describes two of these, “good luck flags” and “thousand-stitch
belts”.
Right next to the panel I put this
send-off banner, used in the parades and ceremonies held to celebrate the
dispatch of troops. This one congratulates a Mr. Kurita and was sponsored by
the Tachibana Billiard Hall. The mounting hardware is original, but the bamboo
pole is one I got at a local building supply store. At the base of the banner I
also put document holders explaining how I got into this field of collecting
and detailing some of the little-known Canadian connections to the Pacific War.
Accompanying the panel and banner is
this display case. Besides the thousand-stitch belt and comfort bags (see my
section on “Other Militaria” for details), there are a variety of period
photos. The most interesting of these to me is in the second row, third from
the left. It shows a military entertainment troupe that has just done a show.
They are dressed as samurai or in drag and are posing with a group of sailors
in June, 1945.
This panel covers the pistols that
carried the “Nambu-shiki” (Nambu-type) designation, now referred to as the
Grandpa, Papa and Baby Nambus.
The corresponding display case shows
Navy items with the naval-marked TGE Papa and officers’ items (insignia, dog
tag) with the Baby Nambu, which was privately purchased by officers. These guns
were state of the art during World War I, so I have the two medals from WWI and
the Taisho Emperor’s Enthronement medal in the lower centre. Again, I
disassembled my poorest specimen to show the mechanism of the Papa in the lower
left.
The ammunition explanatory panel
covers the three uniquely Japanese calibres (7mm Nambu, 8mm Nambu and 9mm
Japanese Revolver) as well as the ammunition made for foreign private-purchase
weapons used by officers.
The main new addition to the
ammunition display case was a Japanese-made .44 Russian cartridge for the old
S&W revolvers
This panel covers the Type 14, which is what
most people think of when they hear “Nambu” or “Japanese pistol”.
The first Type 14 display case
covers the small trigger guard version. I need to get a few more of the early
ones to strengthen this part of my collection. The medals include the Showa
Enthronement medal, Manchuria and
The centrepiece of the background
panels is this good luck flag with the title of the display. The paper title
was the only “banner” I had until I got the professional one shown attached to
the table skirt this year. The slogan on the flag is “loyalty and national
service” and it was dedicated to a Mr. Kameuchi.
My panel on Type 14 holsters points
out the key distinguishing features (ring shape, strap type, etc.) and provides
a table summarizing the eleven major variations identified in the Derby &
Brown book. I had ten of them in the display, and got the eleventh one (the
Type VIII transitional) shortly after the show.
Here are the leather holsters
starting with the Type IA on the right and working left. I showed the back or
the inside as required to demonstrate the differences between types.
Here are the rest of the leather
holsters and a waist belt. Just above the belt is a photo of a group of
officers in northern
I had a TV/VCR and DVD set up to
show videos relating to Japanese weapons and Japanese troops in WWII. Many of
the tapes/DVDs I showed were purchased in
No display of Japanese firearms
would be complete without an explanation of the role of Lt. General Kijiro
Nambu. Today he is best remembered for his pistol designs, but his work touched
virtually every rifle and machine gun in the Japanese arsenal in WWII. His firm
also manufactured other arms such as the “knee mortar” and training rifles.
The last two variations of holsters
are made of rubberized canvas, a leather substitute. A shoulder strap of this
material is shown above the holster on the left.
The pistol in the holster shows why
the Japanese were so keen on lanyards: without one you can hardly get the
pistol out of the holster. The other items in the case include a canteen, a
bugle, a military song book and postcards sent from the front.
Few people in
The display case below that panel
shows large trigger guard Type 14s made at the Chuo Kogyo factory in Kokubunji,
a suburb of
The next panel is a grouping of photos of
Japanese handguns in use.
The
last maker of Type 14s was Toriimatsu factory of Nagoya Arsenal, and all the
pistols in this case came from there. Toriimatsu production roughly
corresponded with the period of the war with the
The last major design adopted by the
Japanese, the Type 94, was also the most controversial: many now regard it as
ugly and/or unfit for service, but it was popular enough with those who carried
it at the time.
The last case contains four of these
Type 94 pistols, accessories and a war bond issued to raise money for weapons.
The labels, like those for all the guns in the display, explain the small
differences between them that may not be obvious at first to the untrained eye.
Next year I am tentatively planning
to team up with a friend and do a joint display. Between the two of us we have
most of the weapons the Japanese used in WWII from pistols to rifles, machine
guns, bayonets and so on.
To return to
the home page, please click here: Nambu
World: Teri’s WWII Japanese Handgun Website
Last updated: May 30, 2006. All contents are copyright Teri
unless otherwise specified and may not be used elsewhere in any form without
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