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

[Paulnoonan]

How cool is this! "Captured documents" retained for posterity.

I can recognise some of the kanji here by comparing it with the notes from the translator Luwika S.

[tomp]

Very cool!


Tom

[Paulnoonan]

If not too much bother, it would be great if you could post some of the pics from the album too.
No need for the grisly ones nor the personal ones (familily), if thats a problem.
Anyway, Im way more interested in the 'officers with swords' & 'military ceremonies' pics if at all possible.
PS
I assume your big toe is sticking upwards like that with the strain of pushing the camera button!

Hello Scout

I'm sorry it took a while to get back to this. I decided to include the 'family photo' aswell as these 4 seem to be a set of 'captured japanese personal photos'. I would like to know what the photos are showing if anyone has an informed opinion.

I now have the two interrogation reports from the Australian War Memorial I ordered copies of, and also the two nominal rolls for the 5th Kure SNLP. I have found Nakatani Kenichi's name on both versions of the roll. Roll AWM 82 1/1/5 is particularly interesting as the SNLP is broken down by organisational structure. AWM 82 1/1/2 is alphabetic, organised according to the Iroha and is less 'useful', though still very cool.

[Paulnoonan]

I forgot to mention.......extra marks for anyone who can identify the people in the photos

[Neil Hever]

Fascinating read! I'll tell you Paul, everyone here contributed to your discovery quite nicely. I am looking at an auction with a Kobe Seiko marked helmet. This was the thread that helped me identify it! Neil H.

[Razorback76]

Have you seen this thread Russ?

[ghp95134]

十七 ＊＊ ＊＊
17 ＊＊ ＊＊

呉五特一中一水
Kure Go Toku Ichi Chū Ichi Sui[hei]
Kure 5 Special、 1st Company, 1st Sailor[?]

That "Toku" 特 might be for "Special Landing Force"
海軍特別陸戦隊
Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai

中谷 ＊一
Nakatani ~kazu [or ~ichi]
family name/given name

Maybe Nick can read the full given name.

--Guy

[ghp95134]

OOOOOooookay ..... I see this thread is some years old and things have already been translated. The translator did a fine job.

Inside cloth cover: First line as a whole: 呉五特甲水

呉五特 = 5th Kure Special (it's Naval Landing Force, but that's not included in the text)

The following two kanji are unclear, possibly they are also abbreviations to some longer words.

甲 = first class; can also mean "helmet"
水 = water

There's a dash between those two kanjis, which makes no sense. It appears to belong to the bottow kanji "water" (水), which would make it into "eternity" (永), but still doesn't tell me anything, so I'm not sure which one is more correct.

[That is also discussed below]

The second line of the kanji on the helmet cover is a name.

中谷顕一 = Nakatani Kenichi

The same name, as well as "5th Kure Special" is written on the leather lining (inside the helmet). Between those two lines is "one" (一) and "small" (小), which I would assume are other abbreviations.

I think I can clear up something .... this looks like Nakatani was a member of the 5th SLNF, 1st Company, 1st Platoon. The translator misread 中 as 甲; and, both he and I misread 小 [small] as 水 [water]. Looking harder at that kanji, I think it is 小. Also, the "dashes" the translator mentions do make sense as they are numerals 1.

This is what I'm reading now:

呉五特一中一小
Kure 5th Special, 1st Co, 1st Plt

an abbreviation for what is probably:

呉五海軍特別陸戦隊一中隊一小隊
Kure Go Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai Ichi Chūtai Ichi Shōtai
Kure 5th Naval Special Landing Force, 1st Company, 1st Platoon


--Guy

[RussM]

Have you seen this thread Russ?

I have now Razor!

What a superb thread this is, fantastic items and great research!

I love that helmet and cover!

I see Paul's last activity was back in 2012, I wonder if he is still collecting?

Regards

Russ

[ghp95134]

Whomever it was who had access to the 5th Regiment SNLF roster, your man, Nakatani Kenichi, should be in the roster for 1st Company, 1st Platoon.

--Guy