Original Items: Only One Lot of 2 Available. This is a wonderful pair of WWII Imperial Japanese Army mess items, a Type 99 Canteen and Messkit. Two beautiful items that were most definitely brought home by a US Marine after the war!

The items in this lot:
- Canteen & Carrier: This is a lovely aluminum canteen with original "Model A" Aluminum and cork stopper. This was the first type of stopper used with this model canteen, a carry over from the earlier smaller canteen, which was replaced by this model in 1930.

The canteen is arsenal marked on the bottom under the strap, and is stamped with 昭 / 九 , which reads Showa Jyu, or the 9th year of Emperor Showa's reign, 1934. This is quite early for a WWII canteen though, and the double buckle leather loop for the stopper was not introduced until 1940. It is possible that this is an earlier canteen that was then placed into a later carrier. Definitely some great research potential here.

The web harness is in good condition, with the expected fading and wear from being in long service. There are some faded ink stamp markings on the fixed end of the shoulder strap, which we unfortunately cannot read. The leather strap that retains the canteen and stopper is somewhat worn and shrunken and does have some cracking present.

- “Model Ro” Two Meal Aluminum Messkit: Even though Japan had decent reserves of imported aluminum, it was clear that luxuries like nesting aluminum mess kits were no longer affordable. This austerity mode meant two things as starters, the revival of 2-meal mess kits, instead of the earlier 4-meal kits, and a variation of that design to be made using recycled aluminum.

Even when tension was beginning to rise with the USA with export embargoes and other sanctions were imminent, importing metal for making coins did appear innocent enough, not to alarm distrusting nations that would have seriously objected to trends like surges in copper imports by Japanese manufacturing industries that may indicate preparations for war. Being a resource poor country, Japan was quite crafty about stocking up metals needed for the military by importing them for making coins, and once war broke out, this reserve was called in for melting down for recycled use.

This recycled aluminum mess tin was called "Model-Ro" and specs for this canteen were first issued on 5th July 1939. "Ro" is a Japanese equivalent of the alphabetical order for “B”. It went “I, Ro, Ha, Ni, Ho, He------“. The “Ro” designation in IJA specs indicated “Design alternative B”.

The messkit retains much of the original IJA brown paint and original arsenal stamps. The insert is still present and undamaged. The wire handle retains its original shape and much of the original paint as well.

These are both wonderful items that come more than ready for further research and display.