Description
You are bidding on a VERY NICE example of a WW2 Imperial Japanese Army Ninshikihyo Identification Dog Tag, as issued to personnel during the Second World War! This was the standard oval-pattern Japanese military identification tag that featured stamped unit and individual identification information.
Imperial Japanese Army identification tags, known as “Ninshikihyo”, were issued as a means of identifying military personnel and differed considerably from the name-marked identification tags used by many Western armies. Rather than normally carrying the soldier’s personal name, Japanese Army tags generally utilized a combination of unit, organizational, and individual roster numbers. Wartime examples commonly employed numerical unit designations and military cover numbers intended to conceal the actual identity of formations. The standard Army pattern was approximately 45 mm long by 33 mm wide and was normally worn suspended by cord around the neck, forming an important part of the individual soldier’s field equipment.
The Japanese 5th Border Guard Unit (Dai 5 Kokkyo Shubitai) was an Imperial Japanese Army frontier-defense formation stationed in Manchukuo, where it formed part of the network of heavily fortified border troops guarding Japan’s northern and eastern approaches against the Soviet Union. By 1941 the 5th Border Guard Unit was assigned to the Japanese 4th Army under the Kwantung Army, whose primary mission was the defense of Manchuria. These frontier units combined infantry with supporting weapons and occupied prepared defensive positions, observation posts, and fortified sectors along the Soviet-Manchurian frontier. Their role was not simply static guard duty, but also reconnaissance, local security, and delaying or resisting a Soviet penetration of the border. As Japan’s military situation deteriorated later in the war, experienced personnel and equipment were increasingly transferred away from Manchuria to more active theaters, weakening many of these frontier formations before the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945.
Made of brass this ID Tag is in EXCELLENT used condition! Some normal patina and surface oxidation throughout…however there are NO bends, cracks, repairs, or structural damage!. The face is clearly stamped with the Japanese military Kanji identification markings, clearly indicating:
5th Border / Frontier Infantry
(Unit Designation)
1st Company
No. 320(The individual soldier’s roster or identification number)
The stamped characters and numbers remain clearly visible despite the naturally aged surface. Everything is 100% ORIGINAL, wartime manufacture, making this a SUPERB identified Imperial Japanese Army personal equipment item for any advanced WW2 Japanese militaria collection or display!
