What is this?

[maximus71]

Hi All,
This was inside a ditty bag, wooden dog tags?? I have no idea, please help.
Thank you so much!!!

[Nick Komiya]

That is a packaging kit to send your private civilian clothes back to Mom from the Army base, once you got issued your army uniform and no longer had use for the civilian attire. It consists of oil paper for wrapping up your clothes in and cords to tie it up into a bundle with 2 address tags in wood for good measure. The would-be soldier's name was Masaide Sakashita and the other side is addressed to a Hatsue Sakashita, his Mom or wife in Hyogo Prefecture. Reservists would keep such a kit in his Service Bag along with his military passbook to be on standby for being called back to service.

Such kits were also available from the neighborhood Patriotic Women's League, etc for first-time draftees, but those kits typically came with cheap paper address tags. Yours in comparison is extremely meticulously prepared, so he must have been a veteran, several steps ahead of the rookies.

[ghp95134]

Something inside the oiled paper packet is being sent to Japan. The top two are the same address:

Front side address:
大日本帝国
兵庫県武庫郡御影町
群家下り二一一
板下初枝殿
Dai Nippon Teikoku
Hyōgo-ken Muko-gun Mikage-chō-gun-ka Kudari ni ichi ichi
Itashita Hatsue Dono

Greater Japanese Empire
Hyogo Prefecture Muko County Mikagi-Town
Lower Gunke 211
Mrs. Itashita Hatsue

Back side, sender's name:
板下正出
Itashita Seishutsu
I do not know how to read that given name ...... the kanji 正出 means "legitimate born". I see it can be a surname "Shōde" ... I wonder if it could be "Masada" or "Masade"??????


{EDIT} Note: I should have waited for Nick!!!!! Itashita > Sakashita. Oh well ...... Learning curve:

坂本 SAKAmoto
板橋 ITAbashi

[maximus71]

Wow I would have never guessed, You guys are awesome! Thank you !!

[RussM]

That is a great little set! The calligraphy is certainly beautiful!

Regards

Russ

[Vpep]

That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Thanks for sharing it. It’s pieces like that that really make a collection.

[Nick Komiya]

This is another example, which was commercially available through the PX. It has postal rate charts on the back.