Original Item: Only One Available. This is a rare original WW2 Japanese Army tunic and trousers for an Infantry Private First Class. The tunic is in near unissued condition and free of any damage. This is a high quality construction, cotton shell and lining with wood buttons. Features Jōtōhei (Superior Soldier) rank collar tabs, all red background with 3 yellow stars.

There are no chest marks present to represent a certain element within the IJA this tunic would have been worn with. There are no kanji stamps on the inside, another indication that it more than likely was never issued out.

This is truly a wonderful, clean tunic. Comes more than ready to display!

Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9”
Shoulder to sleeve: 22”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16”
Chest width: 19"
Waist width: 18”
Hip width: 20.5”
Front length: 27"

The Imperial Japanese Army was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Later an Inspectorate General of Aviation became the third agency with oversight of the army.

During wartime or national emergencies, the nominal command functions of the emperor would be centralized in an Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ), an ad hoc body consisting of the chief and vice chief of the Army General Staff, the Minister of the Army, the chief and vice chief of the Naval General Staff, the Inspector General of Aviation, and the Inspector General of Military Training.

In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army had 51 divisions and various special-purpose artillery, cavalry, anti-aircraft, and armored units with a total of 1,700,000 people. At the beginning of the Second World War, most of the Japanese Army (27 divisions) was stationed in China. A further 13 divisions defended the Mongolian border, due to concerns about a possible attack by the Soviet Union. From 1942, soldiers were sent to Hong Kong (23rd Army), the Philippines (14th Army), Thailand (15th Army), Burma (15th Army), Dutch East Indies (16th Army), and Malaya (25th Army). By 1945, there were 6 million soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army.

From 1943, Japanese troops suffered from a shortage of supplies, especially food, medicine, munitions, and armaments, largely due to submarine interdiction of supplies, and losses to Japanese shipping, which was worsened by a longstanding rivalry with the Imperial Japanese Navy. The lack of supplies caused large numbers of fighter aircraft to become unserviceable for lack of spare parts, and "as many as two-thirds of Japan's total military deaths [to result] from illness or starvation".