Translation Requests

[paulg]

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[paulg]

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[paulg]

Last Picture. Thank You so much!

Paul G-

[hisashi]

天業恢弘 tengyo kaiko (extending the destined work)

This phrase was based on Nihon Shoki, a legendary history book. The first emperor Jinmu proposed his princes to expand his territory to the east and this phrase (slightly different) appeared in his speech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihon_Shoki

This word was sometimes used by militarymen & nationalist referring to the emperor's war. Here this slogan sounds 'Help the emperor's work (to expand the imperium)!'

The encircled horizontal chars reads 祝入営湯浅一男君 (Congratulations for mobilization, Mr. Yuasa(湯浅) Kazuo(一男)). 君(kun) is a wording to a junior or mate. Some signs have the same family name 湯浅.

神光 shinko = holy light

I have not seen any militaryman's flag indicationg his destination. Perhaps it was not allowed to carry on for security reason. And usually families did not know where the soldier was fighting.

陸軍曹長勲七等(award 7th grade, army master seageant)新井国松
曹長 (socho, master seageant) was used until 1932 so 新井国松 (Arai Kunimatsu) was an old veteran. In Japanese system individual achievement was seldom awarded by decoration and instead militarymen got awards roughly according to their rank.

陸軍主計少尉　従八位　加藤? (army accounting 2nd lieutenant, lower 8th class, Kato?)

In right above an accounting officer signed. 位 roughly corresponds to his 等 but not to the same number. lower 8th class was common for 2nd lieutenant and perhaps he was award 6th grade.

[hisashi]

I missed a small phrase. near the left end very small characters reads 砂町警防団. Perhaps the signed man 中島和成? was a leading figure of this organ and Yuasa was a member. 砂町警防団 (Sunamachi Keibodan = volunteer fire brigade) was in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. So Yuasa seemed to live there.

[paulg]

Thank you Hisahi! This flag will have special meaning for me, as I too am a firefighter in the United States. Thank you so much for helping me with this flag

Paul G-

[missingmarines]

Hi all,

First time poster here. A few years ago, I acquired the mementos of a rifleman in Company A, 24th Marines. He was a bit of a packrat for paperwork, and picked up a lot of Japanese documents while fighting on Saipan. Official documents, what look like pay books, letters, postcards, photographs and insignia - you name it, this teenager saved it.

I haven't been able to find anyone able to translate any of the letters, but I've suspected they belonged to a young Japanese soldier in one of the photographs.

Didn't want to flood the board with photos, so I just attached a sample letter. The whole collection is posted on my website. (Mods - if I should post individual photos, let me know and I'll do that instead.)

Printed documents:
http://1stbattalion24thmarines.wordpres ... documents/

Letters:
http://1stbattalion24thmarines.wordpres ... postcards/

Photographs and insignia:
http://1stbattalion24thmarines.wordpres ... d-patches/


Thanks for your help!

Geoff

[hisashi]

Hi missingmarines, welcome.
The attachmed letter is a typical xensor-safe letter from Hapan. Roughly,
Thank you for your lettter [to Japan]. We are proud of you serving for the nation. All us fine at home.

1st link.
red paper 郵便貯金通帳 is a bank note of post-office savings.Soldier's name 嘉手苅蒲真 (Kadekaru ???? I can't show any possuble reading) is very rare family name (almost exclusively in Okinawa) and unreadable too rare name. His account has 1 yen.

保険料領収帳 life insurance fee receipt

郵便貯金通帳 anothe man's account. 嘉手苅正夫 (Kadekaru Masao) maybe brother?

I have no time to read all at once. Stay tuned.

Edited: not health insurance but life insurance offered by post office. Several 嘉手苅 families appears so the owners looked like a civilian family worked in Saipan.

[hisashi]

1st link continues:

>This unknown document, featuring both kanji and kana characters, appears to be a tabular set of instructions.

Covenant of the life insurance offered by post office. The table offers additional payments on the term the contractor continued to pay fees before he/she fell.

>Unknown document. The lower right section is perforated and meant to be detached.

Wartime government bond, Dec 1943. 10 yen. not issued yet. Lower left is an application of trust, and lower right is a certificate that bill was trusted. It seemed that the buyer fill his name on lower left and the bank pass him lower right with their stamp, keeping bill itself to the bank.

>Unknown document.

割増金附特別報国債券 This is a 'loto' government bill. Paying 1 yen the buyer might be paid back up to 50 yen after lottery.

>Unknown document. The characters appear to be printed rather than handwritten.

A flyer to Japanese soldiers recommending to surrender. The 'writer' introduce himself as a Japanese soldier already surrendered.

>Unknown stamped document with handwritten characters.

When a bank keep customer's bank bill for days, they issue such a claim tag. Again 嘉手苅 family...

>Unknown document – possibly an envelope.

Envelope with ad of post office saving bank.

定額郵便貯金證券

A fixed deposit bill from post office.

家庭用米穀通帳

Rice rationing book. A couple (aged 52 and 46) and four children. One son, 23 years old, was removed perhaps because of mobilization to the army.

保険證書

Life insurance policy

End of 1st link.

[hisashi]

2nd link 'letters';

Papers in this page consist of two groups. One was about 嘉手苅 family.

>Unlike the rest of the collection, this document – written on very thin paper – was kept in its own envelope.

This paper was a license to 嘉手苅蒲真 for operation barber shop in Saipan, dated in 1928, in the name of Saipan branch, South Pacific Mandate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_Mandate

11th pic on left is hard to read but readable part says somebody received 4 yen for revenue stamp. Revenue stamp is generally needed for Japanese businessmen to make some papers valid. the paper on the right is a memo saying that 嘉手苅蒲真 rent a man 400 yen but not yet paid back. His wording is not rigorous but it seems when the pay was delayed he and the borrower went to something of a notary to confirm the debt still exists.

The rest of letters are to or from 和田勝三 (Wada Shozo). He was a novice navy communication (maybe telegram) man. He was trained in Yokosuka. His hand and his relatives' hand are not good but relatives (or friends) said some day they would go to Yokosuka to meet him. In several unsent leafs he said sorry he was busy and they v\could not see him. In some picture letters Wada wrote only the recipients' address and his one without any message. Strangely, some of pics are clearly of Ogasawara Islands. I guess he was hastily sent from Yokosuka to Saipan and was told to deceive where he really was.

[hisashi]

Now the last link 'Photos and Patches'

The round cross patch is a sailor-2nd-class of nursary insignia. Crossing bandage. The next one is also bandage but this one indicates a graduate of regular (for sailor) course of nursery. Not all of nursery sailors was a graduate.
The last red stripe is a charm (omamori) of Shinto shrine, in upside down.

I guess old couple were 嘉手苅蒲真 and his wife 嘉手苅カヤ (Her name 'Kaya' appears on rice rationing book).

[missingmarines]

Hisashi - thank you so much for all your work! After so many false leads it's wonderful to have an idea as to what these documents mean. I found it interesting that a teenaged Marine would be so interested in pieces of paper - he apparently didn't pick up other souvenirs - an obsession that followed into a career as a sailor in the 1950s and 1960s.

Thank you again for the tremendous help.

Geoff

[VJK]

Hi,

Could someone please translate the names of these officers.

Many thanks in advance,

VJK

[hisashi]

From Top-right to leftl;

林銑十郎　Senjūrō Hayashi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senj%C5%ABr%C5%8D_Hayashi

川島義之　Yoshiyuki Kawashima
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiyuki_Kawashima

室兼次 Muro Kenji Lt.Gen.
commander, 20th division in 1931. Retired in 1932.

梅崎延太郎　Umesaki Nobutaro Lt.Gen.
Muro's successor, 20th division commander (1932-1935) Retired in 1935.

嘉村達次郎 Kamura Tatsujiro Maj.Gen. He led 39th mixed brigade (a detachment from 20th division reacted to Mukden Incident). Retired in 1933.

勝尾信彦 Katsuo Kobuhiko Maj.Gen.
kamura's successor as the 39th (infantry) brigade commandant. Note:39th MIXED brigade was an ad hoc formation from 39th infantry brigade plus support elements. Kamura was the commandant of 39th brigade.

山縣楽水 Yamagata Rakusui (Gakusui?) Col. (Retired as Maj.Gen.)
He was the leader of 78th infantry regiment under 39th brigade (1930-1933).

樋口清登　Higuchi Kiyoto, Major (Maj.Gen. at the end of war)
Perhaps he was a battalion commander in early 1930s 78th regiment but no easily accessible record found.

These pics seems a soldier's collection of his own superiors in Mukden Incident period.

[VJK]

Thank you very, very much Hisashi, I truly appreciate your help!

Very best regards,

VJK