Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is an attractive and increasingly difficult-to-find original Japanese WWII leather ammunition pouch set for use with the Arisaka service rifle.

The set consists of one early-pattern front ammunition pouch and one larger rear ammunition pouch. Together, they form the most visually important components of the Japanese infantryman’s cartridge-carrying equipment and would make an excellent addition to a complete belt display or uniform mannequin.

Original Japanese leather field equipment was frequently subjected to hard use, tropical climates, poor storage conditions, and postwar neglect. Complete and displayable examples are therefore increasingly scarce, particularly early-pattern pouches retaining their original straps and belt loops.

Early-Pattern Front Ammunition Pouch

The smaller pouch is one of the front ammunition pouches worn on the infantry equipment belt.

This is the desirable early pattern featuring a single securing loop over the main closure strap.

Later examples incorporated an additional loop to stabilize the closure strap during field use. The single-loop construction gives this pouch added interest as an earlier variation.

Japanese riflemen normally carried multiple front ammunition pouches positioned along the belt, with the exact arrangement varying depending on issue, availability, and field conditions.

This example retains both of the small side securing straps that fasten over the metal closure studs.

Both rear belt loops are also present.

The leather shows expected age, handling wear, creasing, surface marks, and service use, but the pouch remains complete and highly displayable.

Rear Ammunition Pouch

The larger pouch was worn at the rear of the equipment belt.

It displays heavier service wear than the front pouch, giving it a particularly authentic field-used appearance.

The main front closure strap remains present and functional.

Both rear belt loops are also intact, allowing the pouch to be mounted on an appropriate Japanese equipment belt for display.

The top of the pouch is scratched with the initials: HAE

The identity or meaning represented by these initials is unknown. They may have been added by a former owner, collector, serviceman, or individual associated with the pouch after capture.

The rear pouch was designed with small side straps intended to retain an oil bottle or similar rifle-maintenance accessory.

Those side straps are now broken and will no longer securely hold an oiler.

This damage is fully disclosed but does not significantly detract from the overall visual appearance of the pouch when mounted on a belt or mannequin.

The Imperial Japanese infantryman carried his ammunition in a system of leather pouches arranged around the waist belt.

Front pouches provided ready access to rifle cartridges, while the larger rear pouch offered additional ammunition capacity and space for selected rifle accessories.

These pouches were used with Japan’s principal Arisaka service rifles, including the Type 38 and Type 99.

The early-pattern front pouch is particularly desirable because it represents the earlier configuration used before later production changes simplified or strengthened parts of the design.

The matching appearance of the two pouches, combined with their honest wear and retained mounting loops, makes this set especially well suited for restoration of an original Japanese infantry belt rig.

Condition issues include general leather wear, surface scuffing, creasing, staining, dryness, and age-related deterioration.

The rear pouch shows heavier use and has broken side straps that will not retain an oiler.

Despite these defects, both pouches retain their basic form, principal closures, and belt attachments.

A scarce and visually appealing pair of original Japanese rifleman’s ammunition pouches, combining a desirable early-pattern front pouch with a well-used rear pouch for an excellent WWII infantry equipment display.

Specifications:
Country: Imperial Japan
Period: WWII
Intended Weapon: Arisaka Service Rifle
Set Contents: One Front Ammunition Pouch and One Rear Ammunition Pouch
Front Pouch Pattern: Early Single-Loop Variation
Material: Brown Leather
Front Pouch Condition: Complete with Side Securing Straps and Belt Loops
Rear Pouch Condition: Main Closure and Belt Loops Intact; Oiler Retaining Straps Broken
Additional Marking: HAE Scratched into Rear Pouch