WWII Japanese Army Field Commander’s Tunic With Commanders Badge And Long Medal Ribbon

A well worn but complete army officer’s type 98 tunic made of standard wartime olibe drab wool. The tunic have a pair of originally-sewn lieutent collar tabs, a Commander’s Badge, and a five-place ribbon bar bearing the ribbons for the Order of the Rising Sun, the Manturian Incident Medal, the China Incident Medal, the Manchuko Red Cross Membership Medal, and the Japanese Red Cross Membership Medal. The commander’s badge is 4.5cm x 3.5cm. An oval aluminum badge with a brass star on the front and a broad attachment plate which is
to go through the loop on a tunic. The silver-colored wreath indicates it is for lieutenant officers (Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant, or Captain) who is supposed to command either a company or battalion-sized unit. This particular example shows signs of real use which match the tunic perfectly.

Interestingly, on the flap of the right chest pocket, there is a hand-stichted hexagram sympol signfying a unit the officer belonged to. There several tunics with the similar hand-stitched hexagram are known to exist, but the unit is yet to be identified. Needless to say, the hexagram in this case is nothing to do with Israel or anything Jewish. In Japan, the hexagram symbol was traditionally considered a charm to protect from evil. Some Samurai clans used this symbol as their family crests.

The tunic is complete and undamaged but appears to have been worn for a long time in the field. There is only a few moth holes on the tunic but basically the tunic is just as it was worn about 80 years ago. It is totally untocuhed and has a cotton cloth collar liner still attached inside the collar. The collar liner has a maker mark of its wartime producer ”Kaikoh-sha.” While the outside of the tunic has some minor scuffs and wrinkles, the interior lining is relatively clean. Despite its combat-worn appearnce, it is in a quite nice shape that looks great on display.

A field-worn well decorated commander’s tunic, with ribbon bar, commanders badge and unit symbol is near impossible to find!!