Japanese helmet, machine gun damage, japanese text inside cloth cover, translation?

[Paulnoonan]

Hi Tom

Thank you very much for the new information. I know the Kobe steel company because I worked for an Australian steel company called BHP (they are now an Iron ore miner called BHPBilliton) in the 1990's. We built a AUD $110 million continuous steel casting machine that was bought from Kobe steel so that's very interesting to me.

I have photographed 3 coins that look Japanese and quite different from the other coins that came back with my grandfather. Maybe they came out of the belt. Also I have included pics showing coin sized torn areas in the belt, and other pics of the kanji female name (that runs over both sides of the belt), and of a small mark that may also be kanji. This may be of interest to you with your interest in these belts.

Are you a collector, and if so what do you collect? and how did you learn all of this stuff?

I am basically concluding that the helmet is IJN in origin and am very happy for all the expert contributions I have received.

Best regards, Paul

[tomp]

The coin in the middle is a Japanese 5 sen coin. I do not know about the other two coins but I do not believe they are Japanese. I could not tell you about whether coins were in the belt or not and whether the 5 sen coin was inside the belt and later taken out. It is certainly possible. From what I recall, the symbolism of using a 5 sen coin in a senninbari was connected to the Japanese word for "death", which is "shi", also the sound for the number 4. So long story short, 5 overcame 4, thus overcoming death--5 sen coin sewn into the belt to protect the wearer from death. A 10 sen coin was also used to overcome 9, but I could not tell you the sound/word connection for that, certainly something unpleasant that needed to be remedied. As to the name, I cannot make out the entire name of the person, but it looks like the last two kanji are "miko", which points to a female loved one creating/presenting the belt.

I do collect and mainly focus on IJA/IJN paperwork: ID booklets, etc. There was a time when I focused on unusual senninbari and still have a few in my collection. As to picking up the info., it is still very much a work in progress. I was fortunate to have spent a few years in Japan and formed a foundation from studying Japanese which I continue to build upon. I also pick up relevent reference books when I can and soak up information from other collectors. I am happy to have helped with your questions. Again, great pieces of history, especially with their connection to your grandfather.

Tom

[Walkwolf]

The two coins on either side with square holes are Chinese
and are antiques - more that 100 years old.........

[Paulnoonan]

Dear All

Thanks so much to you all. I am very happy with what I have learnt. Best regards, Paul.

[Alan M]

Hi Paul , it`s a rarity to see a battle field bringback Japanese type 90 helmet with matching cover and liner intact , treasure it , i think it`s super

[Jack]

I bought a Japanese helmet a month or so ago. I am 99% convinced it is a civil defense type (not Type 90). Anyway, it has kanji on the front and back. I took the lazy path and emailed the eBay photos of it to a man who translates Japanese. Alas, the characters were merely the helmet owner's name with a '63' after them. But it was a $20.00 fee that satisfied my curiosity.

[Paulnoonan]

Hello Jack

Thanks for that. Can you pass on the email address of the translator you used?

Also, if you have time, would you post a picture of your civil defense helmet?

Best regards, Paul

[Jack]

The only data I saved was Richard T at Elance.com. I hired him through that service. (Very fast and $20.00.) Re photos, one day I have to get my wife to teach me how to use our electronic camera and then how to post. Yes, I am a dinosaur.

[Paulnoonan]

Cheers Jack

[Paulnoonan]

Hi All

A young lady in the USA is giving me a translation of the kanji. I'll post it up when its complete. I found her on elance.

Paul