Type 38 Rifle Questions [Pictures Included]

[Patrick Chadwick]

A touch of clarification - but not the end of the puzzle!

The arsenal was Koishikawa Arsenal (Tokyo) from 1870 to 1935 - so the rifle was made at Koishikawa. From 1935-45 it was Kokura arsenal.

There is no school marking, but the chrysanthemum has been overstamped by the Koishikawa/Kokura stamp. This indicates that the rifle was sold officially to another country. The S is supposed to be the Japanese proof mark, but rather wierdly, the dot-over-S looks exactly like the marks applied to German Gew88 rifles when they were upgraded to take the "spitzer" bullet. And I have not yet found the triangle-in-circle mark explained - could someone enlighten me? This leads us into the realms of speculation - are those really Japanese marks, or marks applied by the new owners?

The bolt number does not match the system, and the rifle is in very poor external condition. What does it look like inside?

Patrick