tailgunner82
Inactive
I have recently acquired what appears to be a Japanese type 38 rifle. I acquired it from a guy who said his grandfather was a sailor on the USS Missouri and picked it up in Tokyo when the Japanese surrendered. However, It also appears to be "Last Ditch". I have never been able to locate any information on Last ditch type 38s, only 99s. The bolt style is that of very early type 38s with the hooked safety. The rear sight is fixed peep and the front sight has no protective ears. It has a metal butt plate and the cleaning rod is only about 4 inches long. The Bayonet is also included and is also last ditch with a bamboo scabbard. The strange thing about this gun is that the stock appears to be of a solid piece of dark wood and is not laminated like most Arisakas. There is no serial number on the side of the receiver as with all other Arisakas that I have seen. The only marking on the side of the receiver indicates that it was made in the Kokura arsenal. The Chrysanthemum is intact. The Japanese characters directly below the "mum" I have attempted to translate. One of the characters is "Type". I believe that the others in order are: "3", "10", "5", and last one is unknown. I have not seen markings like this before and was wondering if anyone knows what it means or if they have seen it before. THanks for any help!!!