WWll Imperial Japanese Soldiers Box Kanji etc

[Bruce Pennington]

I didn’t get that. (I was under the misconception that everything accepted by the Army had a star stamp, but come to think of it, the only items I really looked at were aircraft related items.)

The star stamp indicated that the item was made with steel provided by the army.

[Akira Komiya]

The star stamp indicated that the item was made with steel provided by the army.

Dear Bruce-san:
Thank you very much for your comment.
Now that you pointed out, I do recall the thread on the star in a circle stamp in the context of swords.
However, that was not in my mind when I wrote my comments. All army aircraft instruments as well as parachute equipment bear the same star in a circle stamp so I wrongly assumed that all precision equipment accepted by the army will have such stamp.
However, as Kiipu pointed out, the theodolite box bore the "東" stamp of the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal 東京第一陸軍造兵廠.
Based on such, I now believe the acceptance marks in different types of equipment has to do with the army office in charge of such equipment.
Thus, artillery theodolites being considered artillery equipment, the ordnance department will be responsible for inspecting and accepting such whereas the aviation headquarters will be responsible for all aviation equipment including aircraft instruments and parachutes.
I will attach a few photos showing the star in a circle stamp as used in aviation related items, i.e., an instrument panel clock and a parachute harness.
Kindest regards,
Akira