Translation Request IJN haversack and canteen

[Gunbatsu]

Translation Request
Hi! Good day… I apologize for the quality of the photos. I need help on the kanji translation on this IJN haversack and canteen please. Your help will be greatly appreciate it. Thank You

[Nick Komiya]

The writing is basically gibberish nonsense, except on the canteen strap, which is Japanese, but added postwar, given away by a mistake in the military lingo. Unfortunate that the fake writing completely destroys the integrity of the set.

I was told ex-IJN gear was extensively used postwar by the Japan National Railways and I remember seeing a pile of these navy items at a flea market in the 70s at a stand specializing in JR surplus.

[Gunbatsu]

Nick, Again Thank You so much I really appreciate it.

[adachi]

The canteen cover has the abbreviation for Shanghai Area Base Force HQ and 3 written. It was a rather small unit so I'm surprised to see anything surviving from it.

[Bruce Pennington]

I personally like these kind of items, as long as you know the story, like Nick provided. It's 'the life of the sword' kind of thing. Flying in South America, there was an old C-46 List of surviving Curtiss C-46 Commandos - Wikipedia parked on a hill at one of the airports. It had been used by civil cargo operators since the war. I always wondered about what transpired between the war and it's arrival in La Paz, Bolivia, and how many paint-jobs it had carried.

[Gunbatsu]

Adachi, Thank You for the helpful translation I really appreciate it.

[Gunbatsu]

Adachi, Long shot… Any surviving photos of this unit exist? Thanks for the help.

[adachi]

As far as I can find, the only pictures I can find of the Shanghai Area Base Force are on my website, viewable here: 海軍陸戦隊史保存会 - 海軍竹下部隊

The actual pictures are not exceptionally interesting, included are two of the unit's commanders and their headquarters. The Shanghai Area Base Force primarily served as a commanding body for other units in Shanghai and the surrounding area. Almost like a fleet command but on shore. In this case the photos appear in an album for the Yokosuka 1st SNLF that fell under the base force's command in 1941.
Base Force Commander Hiraoka Kumeichi is actually pictured wearing a pair of binoculars bearing the same three kanji abbreviation for Shanghai Area Base Force HQ seen on your canteen. Hiraoka would be one of the last commanders that could have a pair of binoculars marked in such a way, as after he left the commander position was merged with the Shanghai SNLF commander until August 1944 due to the shortage in manpower.




From "gibberish nonsense" to confirmed in a period photograph, that's the power of free and easily accessible digital archives. Now if only the photo hoarders did the same and digitized their collections or donated them to my archive

[Gunbatsu]

Adachi, Awesome information… I highly greatly appreciated. Again thank You so much for sharing this valuable info.