Request for Spec Details of Type 26 Pistol Holster Shoulder Strap
Article about: Request for Spec Details of Type 26 Pistol Holster Shoulder Strap For some of my articles, such as the one on the entrenching tool and Type 38 ammo pouch, I have been indebted to a Mr. Kimur
Request for Spec Details of Type 26 Pistol Holster Shoulder Strap
Request for Spec Details of Type 26 Pistol Holster Shoulder Strap
For some of my articles, such as the one on the entrenching tool and Type 38 ammo pouch, I have been indebted to a Mr. Kimura of Dekunoboh Studio in Japan for photos of their leather-craft, reproducing Meiji era equipment from old drawings, etc. They also do custom work for film props like the Spencer pouches used in Yae’s Sakura Taiga drama a few years ago.
This time, he wrote me with a request for any spec information I might have on the shoulder strap, too often missing, from the holsters of Type 26 revolvers. He wants to reproduce them for collectors missing those straps. I supplied him the little amount of info I could draw from the archives, but after all, nothing beats actual examples in collections that can be measured and photographed in detail.
He has seen some examples in Japan with the strap, but could not be sure of their authenticity or he suspects many have straps cannibalized from Type 14 holsters instead. Unfortunately my Type 26 also lacked the strap, so I can only hope you guys might be able to help.
I will first share with you below what I got.
The Type 26 revolver was officially announced on 20th June 1894 and that came with an illustration of the holster and cross section of the pistol. The shoulder strap on the holster illustrated shows 5 size adjustment holes, but actually one hole is hidden from view due to the lid, and there were 6 holes altogether.
Then, 6 years later, on 16th November 1900, General Nogi, of Russo-Japanese War fame, then Commander of the 11th Division, wrote the Minister of the Army that having only 6 holes for adjustment still left the strap too long for many of his men and that 3 or 4 more holes needed to be added to fit all soldiers snugly.
Thus on the 24th of that same month, the army issued Ordinance 120 that ordered 6 further holes to be added to make it 12 adjustment holes altogether.
Beyond that, there are no documents discussing any further changes. What Kimura-san of Dekonoboh Studio wants to reproduce are the 6-hole and 12-hole versions discussed above, for which he wishes to have dimensions like length, width, thickness, hole distances, etc. For comparison, I tried counting the strap holes in my Nambu 14 examples, which came to 21 holes, so documentation-wise the Type 26 had much fewer holes.
We would like collectors with 6 and 12-hole straps to share with us photos and measurements of their Type 26 holster shoulder straps. Please start by uploading photos of such strap examples.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 03-21-2020 at 12:11 AM.
I was hoping someone would come up with a Type 26 strap by now, but no one?
By the way, those of you who read a bit of Kanji might be wondering why General Nogi is referring to a "beautiful woman (美女)" in the first sentence of his letter. It is the same word used for the Japanese translation of the title "Beauty and the Beast 美女と野獣".
Actually, he was referring to the small buckle and its strap holes. Rarely used today, but buckles used to be called "Bijou" in army lingo, and the normally used kanji for this was 尾錠 or 美錠, literally "Tail Lock" or "Beautiful Lock", a somewhat "too descriptive" term for such boring hardware, which makes me suspect they took the French/English word "Bijou", meaning "Little thingy/jewel" and approximated the sound using Kanji. Nogi's version will be pronounced "Bijo" without a stretched ending, but a "Beautiful Woman" might indeed be on target, if "bijou" was the origin.
Do you need some incentive to respond? Here is something on a "quid pro quo" basis for Nambu 14 collectors.
On 25th February 1931, Army Technical HQ issued new sets of drawings for the Nambu 14, which included some substantial changes to the shoulder strap of its holster. One significant measurement was changed that easily allows you to tell whether your holster is of a pre Feb. 1931 design. Interested in the answer?
Request for Spec Details of Type 26 Pistol Holster Shoulder Strap
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