Japanese sword belts

[Geoff Ward]

Hello All,I thought I would start a thread about the various sword belts worn by Officers and NCO personnel.One of the belts in my collection has a feature that puzzled me for quite a while.There is a small leather pocket that was added for an unknown (At the time) purpose.After trying various items such as extra magazines, ammunition boxes, pocket knives etc. I was at a loss until another fellow collector posted a small wooden charm.The dimensions were almost exactly the same as the pouch.I believe the pouch originally contained an Omamori a type of Japanese amulet (charm,or talisman) commonly sold at religious sites and dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures, and are said to provide various forms of luck or protection.

I suppose there will never be any way to know for sure but I am fairly certain this was the case with this belt. I would love to see some other examples of the various sword belts out there. Regards,Geoff
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[MAP]

That a nice belt. Never seen one before!

[DaveR]

Thank you for posting this, as most Japanese equipment seems to have been leather do you know it this webbing was re-purposed allied stuff or Japanese produced?

[Geoff Ward]

Hi DaveR, As far as I know this material was Japanese production.In the earlier production most equipment including belts, straps, ammo pouches etc were using leather but as the war progressed material shortages caused changes in production with more reliance on fabrics and rubberized fabrics.These belts may have evolved from a type of physical training belt that is still used today. I have seen them in different colors as well, a darker green, and a blueish color also . Regards,Geoff