Original Item. Only One Available. A very been-there example of a Second World War Japanese Enlisted Man’s tunic, with uncommon glass buttons.

This is a rare original Japanese enlisted man’s tunic with the rank for “Leading Private” stitched above the right breast pocket. The uniform only has a top set of pockets, and has all white glass buttons. There is a tag on the interior that has since been washed away. There are depot stamps and what appear to be refurbish stamps atop the original stamps. There is damage in several spots across the uniform, including some fraying on both cuffs and a tear along the back of the collar. The original hanging loop is still retained.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 20”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15.5”
Chest width: 19.5"
Waist width: 22"
Hip width: 22"
Front length: 27"

The Imperial Japanese Army was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Later an Inspectorate General of Aviation became the third agency with oversight of the army.

During wartime or national emergencies, the nominal command functions of the emperor would be centralized in an Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ), an ad hoc body consisting of the chief and vice chief of the Army General Staff, the Minister of the Army, the chief and vice chief of the Naval General Staff, the Inspector General of Aviation, and the Inspector General of Military Training.

In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army had 51 divisions and various special-purpose artillery, cavalry, anti-aircraft, and armored units with a total of 1,700,000 people. At the beginning of the Second World War, most of the Japanese Army (27 divisions) was stationed in China. A further 13 divisions defended the Mongolian border, due to concerns about a possible attack by the Soviet Union. From 1942, soldiers were sent to Hong Kong (23rd Army), the Philippines (14th Army), Thailand (15th Army), Burma (15th Army), Dutch East Indies (16th Army), and Malaya (25th Army). By 1945, there were 6 million soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army.

From 1943, Japanese troops suffered from a shortage of supplies, especially food, medicine, munitions, and armaments, largely due to submarine interdiction of supplies, and losses to Japanese shipping, which was worsened by a longstanding rivalry with the Imperial Japanese Navy. The lack of supplies caused large numbers of fighter aircraft to become unserviceable for lack of spare parts, and "as many as two-thirds of Japan's total military deaths [to result] from illness or starvation".