Japanese flea market finds

**Tinhat** · 07-21-2014, 09:48 PM

Apart from being lucky enough to be paid to visit Japan, I also get some freedom to coincide it with a flea market. Here are my collection additions I picked up this time.

Army shirt, unissued, dated 1944

Horseshoe pack, also dated 1944 (very pleased with that find)

Chemical protective cape in its original case. It is made of a waxed paper, surprisingly it is still possible to open it but thought better of opening fully. It is dated 1942 but couldn’t get a good picture of it. The stall holder told me they were very rare up until a few years ago when a store room was found with some in.

A pair of mosquito gloves

2 leather army belts

I also have haversack which I have some questions about some straps that I found inside so will start a separate thread for it.

Lastly, some deal sweetners
China Incident medal, Order of the Rising Sun 8th class, and what I think is a leading seaman shoulder patch with green ground crew badge.

Commemorative army sake tray

Thanks for looking.
Steve.

**DrPMC** · 07-21-2014, 09:54 PM

Great finds - I especially like that sake tray. Is it easy to find militaria in Japan?

Regards, Philip

**Neil Hever** · 07-21-2014, 10:24 PM

Belts are not cheap! You have about 500 US dollars in leather alone. How much did you pay for the belts and for the pack if I may ask? NH

**Tinhat** · 07-21-2014, 10:42 PM

by DrPMC

Great finds - I especially like that sake tray. Is it easy to find militaria in Japan?

Thanks Philip, from my experince, which to be honest isn't huge, I normally visit the same area, I've tried a few markets but I only go to one now becuase it is purely second hand stuff. I never come away empty handed and over the last year or so I've done a lot more research on Japanese stuff so now I'm more educated about what I'm finding. There are 3 stall holders that always have something military and higher prices, the others about a quarter of them will have the odd bit. For those of us who collected in the pre-internet days, it brings back the thrill of the unkown which is what gets me up at that time in the morning.
Steve.

**Tinhat** · 07-21-2014, 10:49 PM

by Neil Hever

Belts are not cheap! You have about 500 US dollars in leather alone. How much did you pay for the belts and for the pack if I may ask? NH

Neil, the belts were on my 'want list' so I had a rough idea of the value, I paid $100 for the two. The pack cames as a bundle but if I bought it individually, it would have been around $50. There has been a significat leap in prices over the past couple of years (which I am probably partly to blame) but on the whole it is still good value.

Steve.

**haru** · 07-23-2014, 01:22 AM

Wow, 50 for belt is a really good price even in Japan-- are you sre they are not rep? i.e. do they have stamps?

**Tinhat** · 07-23-2014, 01:26 AM

by haru

Wow, 50 for belt is a really good price even in Japan-- are you sre they are not rep? i.e. do they have stamps?

Haru, I couldn't find stamps, can you tell me what to look for, I do believe they are old by the smell and feel of them, I would like to learn more.

Steve.

**haru** · 07-23-2014, 01:45 AM

According to this article:
????? | ???????
Original belt (Showa 14) was

Length 103cm、width 44mm, thickness 5mm, 12 holes, 5mm thick hardware made of brass, holes are from 60cm to 93cm, and the leather covering the brass bits should be double

(However, this is showa 14 and they may have changed the specs since then)

The author writes of another type (possibly repro) which was
103cm long, 43mm wide, 5mm thick, 195g weight, holes from 75/96cm

**Tinhat** · 07-23-2014, 07:36 AM

Haru, thank you for the detail in your reply, below are the measurements of my belts.

Real L-103 W-44 Thick 5 Holes 12 60cm to 93cm
Repro L-103 W-43 Thick 5 Holes - 75cm to 96cm
Belt#1 L-104 W-45 Thick 4 Holes 12 61cm to 92cm
Belt#2 L-103 W-25 Thick 4 Holes 12 62cm to 94cm

I did find a small (3mm) star stamped on the outside of the belt.
#1, looks used and sags (or hangs) in places, the belt loop is well worn, but is still soft.
#2, concerns me more, it doesn't look to have been worn very much, but it is the same construction as #1 so maybe they are both bad or both good.

Thanks again,
Steve,

**Rod** · 07-23-2014, 02:41 PM

Steve, congrats on all the great finds!

Re: the belts. They look good to me. There appears to be verdigris on both brass buckles beneath the leather, that's a problem I've found on several period brass and leather items. I say problem because if you don't clear it out gently it sometimes just continues to build up until there's no room for movement. I use a wood toothpick and take my time. The smell, the thread and the number of stitches may also be clues.

Regards, Rod