No soldiers kit is complete without a way to carry water. In fact, a source of water while on the move or in combat is vital. Next to a soldiers rifle and ammunition, a canteen is the second most important peiece of equipment one can have. For this reason, it is quite common to find canteens with the soldiers name written or sewn into the carrier. Some canteens will even have the soldiers name scratched into the canteens body. This article covers the most basic Japanese army canteen styles used by enlisted men and NCO's and does not include privately purchased canteens used by officers nor does it cover canteens used by civilians, or the Imperial Japanese navy during the Second world war.
Japan has a long tradition of creating ways to carry water and sake. For centuries Japanese citizens and samurai alike carried sake and water in hollowed out gourds or sections of bamboo. When Japan began to form a modernized military in the 1870's, they looked to the predominant military powers of Europe for inspiration. First, the French were the powerhouses of military might in Europe, and the Japanese invited French military advisors to come and organize their fledgeling army. When Imperial Germany defeated France in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, the Japanese turned their eyes toward Germany.
Germany sent military instructors and advisors to the Empire of Japan with samples of modern German infantry equipment, including canteens. The German canteen design was made of glass wrapped in a leather cover and slung from the shoulder. The desing also included a tin cup that slipped over the bottom of the canteen, and was held in place by a short leather strap. The Japanese adopted the same basic design, but with a few changes. First, the canteen shoulder strap was eliminated and instead, the canteen would be carried from a hook inside the soldiers bread bag. Second, a leather cup was added that fit over the bottom on the canteen, and was held in place by a retaining strap, similar to the German design.
These early glass canteens worked for a time, but several problems arose during service. In extreme cold, the water would freeze and burst the glass canteen. In hot tempuratures, once the leather got wet from filling, the leather would dry, shrink, and harden around the canteen, making it impossible to remove the leather cover. The leather cup, while a good idea in theory, became rancid after trapped moisture became foul as it was strapped to the bottom of the cantten. A solution in a new material was needed.
Meiji Era Canteen (Type 98).
In 1898 the first aluminum canteen was introduced to the Imperial Japanese army. This new canteen did not have an official designation; however, it is often cited in Japanese documentation as the "Type 98", recognizing its year of introduction. Today, these canteens are known by several other names with most collectors referring to them as "Meiji Era" canteens, in reference to the reign of Emperor Meiji (1868-1912). These canteens are sometimes referred to as "Russo-Japanese War" canteens as this would be the first large scale conflict where the new canteen would be fielded. These early canteens are often referred to in Japan as "sake bottle" canteens due to their shape.
The canteen body was made entirely of aluminum, a new and expensive material for the time. It has a cork stopper with an aluminum cap and eyelet. The Japanese had found that hanging the glass canteens in the breadbag somewhat cumbersome, so the new canteen was carried by a leather harness and shoulder strap. These early aluminum canteens are quite small, and were designed to hold three Japanese gō, or 540 ml of water.
Note: One gō is approximately 180 ml, and is the traditional amount used for a single serving of rice or a cup of sake in Japanese cuisine.
Orginally, field equipment such as canteens and mess kits were painted black. This changed in early 1905 when the color was
officially changed to a light brown/green color. Soldiers were supposed to throw the canteens into a fire and allow the black paint to carbonize. Then scrape the old paint off, sand, and then apply the new paint color. There does appear to be some variation in colors applied to these canteens. Various shades of brown and green have been observed, as well as some brown canteens that appear almost orange in color. Since canteens were a constant companion for the Japanese soldier, they are often seen with large amounts of paint worn off. Some canteens can be seen in period photos being almost devoid of paint entirely.
Later, in 1920 the color was again changed to a much darker brown-green color, similar to the olive drab green we know today. Shortly before the new color change a new harness was chosen to replace the leather ones. Due to cost and growing shortages of leather, the carry harness was changed from natural leather to green cotton webbing. The new harness would continue to use a leather strap for retaining the stopper with a buckle to keep it secured.
Left: Soldier drinking from a Meiji canteen. Right: Top view of later Meiji canteen.
Sho-5 (Showa fifth year) Canteen.
In 1930, the Japanese army received a slew of new field and uniform items in an effort to keep the Imperial Japanese army a modern fighting force. Included in this new equipment package was a new canteen. As mentioned previously, canteens did not receive an official type designation and are instead often referenced by the Japanese in relation to their year of introduction. In keeping with this practice, this article will refer to this canteen as the Sho-5, for the 5th year of Emperor Shōwas' reign (1930). The Sho-5 canteen is made of aluminum like its predecessor, and keeps the same basic buckle adjustment system and the leather strap for securing the stopper. The major and most important element of the Sho-5 canteen is its size. The Sho-5 holds 1 liter of water, almost twice the capacity of the Meiji canteen.
The larger capacity of the Sho-5 canteen allowed for fewer stops to refill canteens while on the march, making planning and logistical services more practical. It also allowed a Japanese soldier to sustain himself longer in the much hotter climates of the south pacific and in the humid jungles of Southeast Asia. Japanese testing of hot weather gear in Taiwan concluded that it may be required for soldiers to carry two canteens in a jungle environment in order to have enough water to sustain himself in combat operations. Since the canteen was such an integral part of a Japanese soldiers kit, it is common to find their name written or sewn into the harness, or scratched into the canteens body.
Sho-5 model canteens have been referred to by collectors by several names including the Type 94, Type 98, and Type 99. The body of the Sho-5 canteen stayed the same throughout the Second World War; however, many variations of the carrying harness can be seen, as well as changes and variations in the stopper. All carrying harnesses are of the same general construction and design, but with changes made to the style of shoulder strap adjustment and how the stopper is secured to the harness.
Early Sho-5 canteens use steel hardware to attach the shoulder strap on one side of the harness, while the other end is sewn directly to both lateral straps that surround the canteen body. Shown below are the three most commonly seen variations of Sho-5 canteen harness. These variations will be called out as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd variations but these names are not necessarily canon in the Japanese militaria collecting community and are used to simplify identification in this article.
Sho-5, 1st Variation.
The 1st variation carry harness was the first style introduced and features steel hardware and a steel buckle arrangement for adjusting the lenth of the shoulder strap. This style of harness also uses a leather strap that passes through the eyelet of the canteen stopper and is secured to the harness by two steel buckles on either side of the canteen. The leather strap has three adjustment holes on either end for securing the stopper inside the canteen mouth. These canteens are often seen with cork stoppers with aluminum caps and eyelets, although wooden stoppers were also common. These harnesses are often found in either dark green, or khaki webbing.
Sho-5, 2nd variation.
The 2nd variation harness is essentially the same as the 1st, except with two major changes. First, the shoulder strap adjustment uses a simplified steel buckle that increases production time and conserves steel. The second change was the elimination of the leather stopper strap. Instead of leather, the 2nd variation uses a cotton webbing cord that passes through the stopper eyelet, and is secured by tieing the cord to loops now sewn to the front and back of the carry harness. This change further conserved steel and now conserved leather, which Japan was continualy short on. These 2nd variation canteens are generally found with wooden stoppers.
Sho-5, 3rd variation.
The 3rd variation harness was introduced late in the war as a measure to further conserve leather and steel. This harness now uses cotton loops for shoulder strap adjustment and totally eliminates the use of steel. The shoulder strap now loops around the top lateral strap of the harness and uses three cotton loops to hold the length of the shoulder strap by friction. The stopper strap arrangement is carried over from the second variation of harness and uses the cotton webbing to secure the stopper to either side of the canteen. Like the 2nd variation, these canteens are generally found with wooden stoppers.
As stated in the introduction, all type of Japanese canteen can be seen with varying degrees of wear. Sho-5 canteens in particular
experienced years of wear and were generally
always with a Japanese soldier. Many canteens in collections today and on the secondary market can be found almost "in the white" from paint stripping. This lack of paint isnt from post war use or storage, but was a side effect of heavy use. Sho-5 canteens can be seen in many WWII period photographs as having being almost entirely stripped of paint.
Sho-5 canteens showing varying degrees of paint stripping.
"Last Ditch" Rubber Canteen.
As the tide of war began to turn against the Japanese, they were faced with serious material shortages of steel, aluminum, and leather. These shortages forced the Japanese to use alternative materials for a number of military items. In late 1943 the Japanese army authorized the use of rubber as a material for canteens. During this period carry harnesses were simplified further to save on material and production time, and several variants of "last ditch" harness can be found. These very late war harnesses only feature the top lateral strap and can be seen using varying widths of cotton webbing for the harness construction.
The last ditch canteen in my collection features a harness that does include a steel shoulder strap adjustment and steel hardware for securing the stopper strap. Other variants omit strap adjustment entirely and utilizes a stopper strap arrangement similar to the Sho-5, Type C harness with sewn loops. These last ditch harnesses are often seen in a natural khaki color instead of the olive green seen on sho-5 canteens.
Rubber canteens often don't hold up well. Note the canteen on the left with cotton stopper strap with wood stopper and loop shoulder adjustment.
These late war rubber canteens are very uncommon, undoubtedly because of how poorly the rubber ages over time. Today, these rubber canteens are generally rock hard and quite brittle. Most examples are flattened or frozen into a solid crumpled mass. If encountered, handle these canteens with extreme care so as to not crack or damage the brittle rubber. As the author, I am very fortunate to have a rubber canteen in my personal collection that is in wonderful condition. The rubber is rock solid, but the canteen body still retains its original shape and its rubber stopper remains removeable.
Stoppers.
Several different types of stopper can be found on all types of Japanese canteens. On early Meiji era and Sho-5 canteens, a cork stopper was used. This early stopper was held in place by aluminum hardware that included a domed cap and a flat or round eyelet that ran through the center of the cork and was secured by an aluminum washer.
Later, wooden stoppers were used. This was an effort to conserve aluminum, reduce cost, and increase production time. There are several different types of wooden stopper that can be found on Japanese canteens but are all generally made of a soft wood. Japanese production blueprints for wooden stoppers call for them to be made of two-piece construction with the lower anged portion attached to the upper eyelet; however, solid one-piece construction stoppers are very common. Many wooden stoppers have the upper eyelet portion painted dark green or black, but many are
unpainted natural wood.
Solid and two-piece wooden stoppers. Note that the two-piece stopper is painted green and somewhat shorter that the solid stopper. When viewed from underneath the seam is visible on the underside of the two-piece stopper.
As the war progressed, the Japanese began to use rubber stoppers for canteens. These late war rubber stoppers can be found on almost all types of Japanese canteen, but are most prevelant on the rubber canteens.
Stopper straps.
Stopper straps are generally of the same design, being wider at the ends and tapering toward the center in order to fit through the stopper eyelet. They are made of leather approximately ten inches in length, although there is some variation in length. The straps have three adjustment holes on either end for adjusting the tension held on th stopper. The strap not only retained the stopper, but also held the canteen body within the carrier. The tension of the strap could be adjusted by the steel buckles on ether side of the canteen harness. Straps can vary from light tan to dark brown in color. Some straps can appear almost black from age and drying out over the years.
Conclusion.
Japanese canteens are very common, and can be encountered in an almost never ending variety of colors, harness, stopper and strap combinations, and in condition. They are also widely availible on the secondary collector market and prevelant on auction sites such as eBay. Because of this, Japanese canteens, especially the Sho-5 can be found for quite affordable prices ($35-$100). Due to their affordability and interesting character, they are often one of the first purchases made by a budding young collector. Seasoned collectors are often attracted to them for their variations, and often have several dozen in their collections.
As a collector of Japanese militaira, a Sho-5 canteen was one of the first items in my own collection. Since then, I've added several more and I am constntly on the look out for interesting variations. Even if I have a particular variation in my collection already, the relatively low price point often entices me into purchasing another.