Need Help Identifying this Foreign Military Badge/Pin

[seh7td]

Hello! I just stumbled upon this badge/pin when I was going through my great uncle's things and cannot find any information on the internet that could help me ID it. My Uncle was in the Navy and would have been 100 this year. It has what appears to be a non latin character on it along with 1648. Here are the pictures I took.





I would really appreciate any feedback!

Thank you,

Scott

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[NOLA_Ken]

Well it's Asian definitely, I think, it may be Korean but I'm far from knowledgeable on Asian writing. Definitely a neat item.

[seh7td]

Well it's Asian definitely, I think, it may be Korean but I'm far from knowledgeable on Asian writing. Definitely a neat item.

Thank you for the input! I am searching the internet like crazy to find out more, but can't seem to find anything like it.

[Mackaydon]

Seh,
Welcome to Treasure Net !!
You may wish to contact your local librarian and ask for someone in Asian Studies; that person might either know the interpretaion of your pin or can refer you to someone who can help.
Don.....

[DCMatt]

The characters are Chinese or Japanese. Actually the two languages share many kanji characters. The radical on the left means ship or boat or vessel.

I haven't figured out the other part but it may have to do with the harbor or port so a sailor on shore leave can get back to his ship without speaking the local language.

DCMatt

[seh7td]

The characters are Chinese or Japanese. Actually the two languages share many kanji characters. The radical on the left means ship or boat or vessel.

I haven't figured out the other part but it may have to do with the harbor or port so a sailor on shore leave can get back to his ship without speaking the local language.

DCMatt

Thanks a lot! That's really helpful and neat! I wonder how old it is.... Mackaydon: Thanks for the good advice, I'll have to do that. I forgot to mention that he was stationed on a submarine for a lot of the time that he served. I'm trying to see if "1648" is the submarine's number or something.

Thanks!

[Carson Coin Master]

Just had my local militaria and badge expert take a look at it. It's a civilian ID badge for a shipyard/plant worker from World War II. I don't speak or read Japanese but we have seen these before and have determined that's what it is.

[Bigcypresshunter]

Just had my local militaria and badge expert take a look at it. It's a civilian ID badge for a shipyard/plant worker from World War II. I don't speak or read Japanese but we have seen these before and have determined that's what it is.

Occupied Japan?

Is your Grandfather Japanese seh7td?

[seh7td]

Occupied Japan?

Is your Grandfather Japanese seh7td?

Thanks for the information! I am going to have to do some research to understand that. My (Great) Uncle was not Japanese, haha. He was born in St. Louis, MO.

[Bigcypresshunter]

Thanks for the information! I am going to have to do some research to understand that. My (Great) Uncle was not Japanese, haha. He was born in St. Louis, MO.

I didnt mean any disrespect. I misunderstood. I thought the pin belonged to your GreatUncle. I see now that it was in his belongings.

Im still wondering if this is WWII or post war Occupied Japan. A shipyard/plant worker in WWII Japan or Japanese conquests cannot be American, can it? POW?

[seh7td]

I didnt mean any disrespect. I misunderstood. I thought the pin belonged to your GreatUncle. I see now that it was in his belongings.

Im still wondering if this is WWII or post war Occupied Japan.

I wasn't offended at all, I just thought it was funny. He was in WWII and never lived in Japan after the war. I'm just wondering if it was his badge or something he picked up because I know he was active duty/not a civilian worker.

Edit: Sorry I didn't read all of your post. Your last sentence is exactly what I am trying to figure out too.

[DCMatt]

I see the item has been identified.

I think the right redical on the badge is the kanji used in words like pure, gallant, righteous, clean...

I have not found an example of it used for anything ship related. But, as I have proved here time and again, my ability to translate kanji is "heta desu yo" (very unskillful).

I'll see if the shipyard angle bears any fruit. Neat item.

DCMatt

[seh7td]

I see the item has been identified.

I think the right redical on the badge is the kanji used in words like pure, gallant, righteous, clean...

I have not found an example of it used for anything ship related. But, as I have proved here time and again, my ability to translate kanji is "heta desu yo" (very unskillful).

I'll see if the shipyard angle bears any fruit. Neat item.

DCMatt

Thank you very much for your input!

I am not sold on the civilian shipyard worker idea. It doesn't seem plausible to me as my Great Uncle never worked as a civilian in any capacity in Japan.

Thanks!

[DCMatt]

In my opinion this badge is not military related. Imperial Japan was much like Nazi Germany with it's markings on things. The Germans put a swastika on everything and the Japanese navy put a sakura or cherry blossom on everything. Do a search on Imperial Japanese Navy badges and you'll see what I mean.

I also don't think it is submarine related. The Japanese word for for submarine during the war was yuu-booto from the German U-boat. Since it is a borrowed word from another language, there is no kanji for it.

One other consideration - Prior to American occupation, Japanese was written and read from right to left. If the badge is WWII or earlier it would be written "old style". A Japanese person today might have to read it backwards for it to make sense.

DCMatt

[seh7td]

In my opinion this badge is not military related. Imperial Japan was much like Nazi Germany with it's markings on things. The Germans put a swastika on everything and the Japanese navy put a sakura or cherry blossom on everything. Do a search on Imperial Japanese Navy badges and you'll see what I mean.

I also don't think it is submarine related. The Japanese word for for submarine during the war was yuu-booto from the German U-boat. Since it is a borrowed word from another language, there is no kanji for it.

One other consideration - Prior to American occupation, Japanese was written and read from right to left. If the badge is WWII or earlier it would be written "old style". A Japanese person today might have to read it backwards for it to make sense.

DCMatt

I definitely see what you mean. Thanks for the useful information. The Japanese Imperial badges have a lot of similar characteristics, too. I'm going to do some research on that.

Thanks,

Scott

[fukuoka]

I definitely see what you mean. Thanks for the useful information. The Japanese Imperial badges have a lot of similar characteristics, too. I'm going to do some research on that.

Thanks,

Scott

The two kanji are 一 [ichi] and 艤 [gi]. The latter is an abbreviation for the two-kanji compound 艤装 [gisou], which means 'fitting-out.' (Note that the gi kanji here is rare and is hardly ever used, even in compounds. The word mentioned above is probably the only place it ever appears.)
SEE HERE FOR ENGLISH EXPLANATION: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitting-out

No doubt a pre-WW2 factory worker's badge, as mentioned above. And though I haven't seen this specific badge before, I've seen similar badges.

Doesn't really matter if your relative had been to Japan or not. He could've picked this up anywhere in his travels.

Cheers,
Rich
Imperial Japan Medals and Badges

[digging wv]

Maybe some type of I.D. badge for work site?

[seh7td]

The two kanji are 一 [ichi] and 艤 [gi]. The latter is an abbreviation for the two-kanji compound 艤装 [gisou], which means 'fitting-out.' (Note that the gi kanji here is rare and is hardly ever used, even in compounds. The word mentioned above is probably the only place it ever appears.)
SEE HERE FOR ENGLISH EXPLANATION: Fitting-out - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No doubt a pre-WW2 factory worker's badge, as mentioned above. And though I haven't seen this specific badge before, I've seen similar badges.

Doesn't really matter if your relative had been to Japan or not. He could've picked this up anywhere in his travels.

Cheers,
Rich
Imperial Japan Medals and Badges

Awesome! Thank you!

Edit: Do you have any idea what it is worth?

[fukuoka]

Awesome! Thank you!

Edit: Do you have any idea what it is worth?

Probably $5-$20 (USD) range. Cannot imagine it would sell for more than that.

Cheers,
Rich