As did many other soldiers who served in the Pacific during WWII, Robert Shutts brought home a surrendered Japanese rifle. They were taken from Japanese P.O.W.'s, forced to hand over their weapons. This one in particular is an Arisaka Type 99. The markings on the rifle give some information as to its origin. Most of what I learned came from this site - http://www.surplusrifle.com/arisaka/index.asp

 

Chrysanthemum and Type

These markings are found on the receiver of the rifle. The engraving on top, which is partially ground off, is a 16 petal chrysanthemum, a symbol of the Japanese emperor. Many of the Japanese soldiers tried to remove the chrysanthemum before surrendering their rifles, because it was considered a disgrace to give away something that belonged to the emperor. The characters below state "Type 99." The guns were named for the year they were designed. This Arisaka was made in 1939, year 2599 on the Japanese calendar.

 

 

Serial No. and Manufacturer

This is the serial number on the side of the rifle's receiver. The symbol to the left indicates that this was from the 6th series of Arisaka Type 99 rifles produced. The number indicates that it was no. 28,912 within Series 6. And the symbol to the right indicates that this gun came from the Nagoya Arsenal.

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