Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

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frazefarm
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Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#1

Post by frazefarm » 26 Dec 2021, 23:34

Hello Everyone,
Here are two photos I recently found Ebay. The first one is a carte de visite of a Japanese soldier. Do any of
you know how early this gentleman's uniform is? Is it from the 1880s? Any ideas as to his rank?
The second image was taken in 1915. Can anyone identify the patch on the sleeve of his naval uniform that
is visible below the two chevrons? And speaking of the chevrons, are those for good conduct or do they signify
a rank? I'm wondering what that patch is for..Port Arthur? Tsingtao?
Thank You!
Soldier.jpg
Naval Officer.jpg

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ijnfleetadmiral
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#2

Post by ijnfleetadmiral » 27 Dec 2021, 04:10

frazefarm wrote:
26 Dec 2021, 23:34
Can anyone identify the patch on the sleeve of his naval uniform that is visible below the two chevrons? And speaking of the chevrons, are those for good conduct or do they signify a rank?
The patch below the chevrons is the rank of Engineering Petty Officer 2nd Class. This style of rank insignia was phased out in 1942. The Chevrons above indicate a double award for Excellent Conduct, kind of like the current U.S. Navy has gold chevrons for Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers who have not had any court martial convictions or non-judicial punishments for twelve years.
MSG, MS State Guard (Ret.) - First Always!


frazefarm
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#3

Post by frazefarm » 28 Dec 2021, 08:02

Thanks for your reply. Can you zoom in on the image and take another look at the patch below the chevrons? There appears to be a soldier on it. It looks like some sort of commemorative patch. The patch on his opposite sleeve looks like it could be an engineering rank patch. At any rate, thanks for taking the time to reply!

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ijnfleetadmiral
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#4

Post by ijnfleetadmiral » 28 Dec 2021, 16:14

Doesn’t appear to be to be anything other than a rank patch.
MSG, MS State Guard (Ret.) - First Always!

frazefarm
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#5

Post by frazefarm » 28 Dec 2021, 19:14

Got it! Thanks!

frazefarm
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#6

Post by frazefarm » 05 Jan 2022, 08:14

Update: The badge on the soldier's uniform in the first photo is a marksmanship badge, introduced in 1888.
Here's a link to an article about it:
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese ... -a-706788/

frazefarm
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#7

Post by frazefarm » 05 Jan 2022, 08:36

Here's a photo showing how much the Army uniform had changed in a short time. This was taken at Genrokukan Studio, Kyoto,
in 1900. This is a portrait of two brothers. Their family name was Uemura.
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1900.jpg

frazefarm
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Re: Photos of a Japanese Soldier and Sailor

#8

Post by frazefarm » 05 Jan 2022, 08:47

Let's not forget the Navy...here are two crew members of the Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship "Mikasa,"
taken during the time of the Russo-Japanese War by Asakura Photo Studio in Niigata.
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Mikasa.jpg

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