Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 271:
Description
WWII Imperial Japanese Army Type 98 (1938 Pattern) Officer’s Field Tunic and Matching Riding Breeches for a Major (Shsa), with rank collar tabs and a nine-place campaign ribbon bar Offered here is a complete Imperial Japanese Army Type 98 officer’s uniform – field tunic and matching high-waisted riding breeches – tailored for a field-grade officer holding the rank of Major (, Shsa), as denoted by the red collar tabs bearing two gold-wire stripes and a single silver five-pointed star. No separate published biography accompanies this grouping; the record of its original wearer rests in the tailoring, rank insignia, and the nine-place ribbon bar mounted to the left breast, which together point to a career officer with extended field service rather than a garrison posting. Introduced in 1938 – Imperial year 2598, from which the Type 98 designation derives – this pattern replaced the earlier stand-collar tunic and became the standard field and service dress of the Imperial Japanese Army through the Second Sino-Japanese War and into the Pacific War. Unlike enlisted issue, officers’ uniforms were private purchase, obtained through the Kaiksha officers’ association network or independent tailors, which accounts for the higher-grade wool, fitted cut, and personalized construction seen here. A Major of this period typically commanded a battalion or served as regimental staff, and the multi-colored ribbon bar – its varied hues consistent with campaign and commemorative service awards of the era – suggests a veteran of the protracted fighting on the Asian mainland that preceded Japan’s entry into the wider Pacific conflict, though the individual awards cannot be confirmed from the ribbons alone. The tunic is finished in olive-drab wool with a turn-down collar bearing the red Major’s tabs, gold bullion rank stripes, and silver star; paired dark-green woven braid rings each cuff; two breast pockets and two lower flap pockets are fitted with horn/composition buttons, and a sword-hanger slit opens at the left side seam. The nine-place ribbon bar, arranged in three rows, is pinned above the left breast pocket, presently mounted upside down but appears complete with all ribbon segments intact. An interior pocket retains a label with faded handwritten ink characters, now largely illegible. The matching riding breeches are cut from the same wool with a high waistband, slanted front pockets, a rear button-flap pocket, and buttoned vents at the ankle for boot wear. The lot comprises the tunic and breeches only, together with the mounted ribbon bar as illustrated; no headwear, belt, or additional insignia are present. Condition is good for the type: light overall soiling and fading to high-friction areas such as the collar, cuffs, and seat, minor staining to the breeches’ waistband lining and tunic interior, and scattered small pinholes or moth nips consistent with wool of this age. The ribbon bar, though displaced from correct orientation, remains fully mounted and undamaged. A well-preserved, privately tailored Type 98 Major’s uniform whose rank tabs and campaign ribbon bar quietly testify to years of Imperial Japanese Army field service on the Asian continent.
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