Type 99 matching, mum, dust cover and wooden tag

Good evening all. During my quest to add an Arisaka to my WWII collection I stopped in to a local pawn shop. There was a T99 there that a friend told me about. I found it included the dust cover and was completely number matched and had the mum. Very cool! It also had a wooden tag with Japanese writing. The attached leather sling was original but hard as a rock. The rifle is a 5th series Nagoya without the monopod. I don't think it ever had one as there is no corosponding marks on the stock from wear. From another discussion board a member thought the tag read "Platoon Commander Ishibashi." I found markings on the underside of the sling that have not been translated. An effort to soften the sling with Pecards failed, so I am leaving it as is, although when I fired it the hard sling made somewhat awkward and uncomfortable. I can't figure out how to post pics to this original post but will try in a reply. If someone can confirm the original translation I would appreciate it as I would a translation from the sling. Online translators have been no help. I am hopeful the sling markings will be unit information so I'll have a better chance at terracing the rifles history. Best regards - Bob

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Originally Posted by Rhpd201

I can't figure out how to post pics to this original post but will try in a reply.

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I guess my problem was related to accessing with an IPAD rather than a PC.....

Your translation of the characters are correct. Shiki Shotai = commanding platoon. The name is Ishibashi . The characters on the sling is shusan , don't know what it refers to, but translates to third highest.
Nice rifle, I hope you got it at a good price.

nice even with matching dust cover

Nice score..:thup:

Thanks or the confirmation and additional info! I was looking for something I could shoot and my only real requirement was an intact mum. I won't shoot this one much because I don't want to damage the sling. I hoped to soften it some to help preserve it and also be able to remove it. I picked it up for $399. My dad is a WWII vet and brought a K98 back, all matching. I know what his medals, etc means to me, so when I realized there was a connection to a specific soldier, the rifle had a lot more meaning. In fact, if the soldier has relatives in the States I would be willing to send it to them if they wanted it. I just need to figure out how to find info on him.

Rhpd201, nice of you to think of returning things to soldiers. I have had to deal with a few friends who had the same thoughts when they discovered a name on weapons from WW2. It is not a good idea though, weapons were not personal property of the soldiers.

I understand what you are saying and my feelings are based on what I would appreciate if it were something my father used in the war. Given how much I know I would treasure it, I guess I feel it would be wrong not to offer it. i don't know the circumstances of the rifle coming to the states. The soldier may have died or been captured. If he died, the family may not have anything. maybe just receiving the tag and sling would be good..... In any event, this rifle having a connection to a specific soldier is a new experience for me. I have over a dozen weapons from 7 countries from wwii and this one haunts me (for lack of a better term). Ultimately; however, I may never be able to find out if there are any relatives in the States.

Given the casualty rates of Japanese soldiers vs capture, chances of him surviving the war when his rifle was captured are extremely slim. Had he survived, neither he nor his family could now own the rifle in Japan.

You are probably right. Does anyone know the purpose of the wooden tag? I found when I fired the rifle that it has a tendency to try to wedge between the bolt and receiver. I doubt it would survive combat as a soldier would pretty quickly get rid of it. I read in a different discussion group that it was intended to make sure the soldier did not loose the rifle (because it was the Emperors property), maybe, but my firing of the rifle (in my mind) seems to dispute that. I wonder if it was used during long transports so the soldier would be able to get their issued weapon back. I have heard others say it was a "capture tag" but that doesn't make sense to me either. If we wanted to know what soldier had what rifle we could write it down in the soldiers POW file, but why would we label the rifle, and in Japanese?