This mark can be found on theleft side of the receiver at the end of the rifle serial number. Each Japanese rifle was markedwith the symbol of either the arsenal of manufacture or the arsenal thatsupervised the manufacturing subcontractor. Theshiki (type)characterand the characters for the Japanese numerals: Japanese Characters Used on Arisaka Rifles CharacterMeaningType02.
#Type 99 arisaka markings series#
The serial number,manufacturer's symbol, and sometimes the series symbol are all locatedon the left side of the receiver.The followingcharts provide a rough guide toward interpreting these symbols:1. (Both of these defacements serve the same purpose, to preservethe honor ofthe Emperor ofJapan, as the chrysanthemum is the Imperial symbol).
For more detail, thecollector may want to invest in a good reference book such as Fred Honeycutt's'.' GENERAL APPEARANCE:There are a few features common to all variants of the Arisaka rifles.These include a two-piece buttstock, plum or egg-shaped bolt handle, anda 16-petal chrysanthemum, or 'mum,' on the receiver ring.Arisaka Receiver Ring ChrysanthemumInsome cases, the mum may have been marred or ground off by Japanese soldiersin anticipation of the arm's capture by enemy forces or by General MacArthur'sedict. Times have changed, however,and there is a growing interest in Arisaka rifles by historians, crufflers,and people who wonder just what kind of rifle they found in their grandfather'sattic.This is a primerfor those wishing to know more about the Arisaka rifles and should be enoughto help someone identify rifles of interest. This is due in part to the relativescarcity of ammunition chambered for these rifles, and the unearned reputationfor poor quality resulting from the very dangerous practice of firing standardammunition through training rifles. They have no vent holes, and lack any markings except a serial number. The Type I Italian built rifle looks similar to the Type 38 rifle, except it uses a Carcano action. With few makings I can't help but wonder if you have a Type I. From its adoption in the 30th year of the Meiji emperor(that's 1895 to those of you who don't speak Imperial Japanese dates) tothe end of the World War Two (1945), the Arisaka served as Imperial Japan'smain longarm in one form or another for fifty years.Although manywere brought back by American GI's during and immediatelyafter WorldWar Two as souvenirs, they have never achieved the same degree of collectabilityas the German K98 Mauser rifles. This rifle became known as the Arisaka rifle,after the man in charge of selecting them, Lieutenant Colonel NariakiraArisaka.
Source: Wikipedia.Firearm Technical Trivia, September 2000CRUFFLER.COMpresentsFirearmsTechnical Trivia, September 2000:Arisaka Rifle Collector'sGuidebyIn the late19th Century, Imperial Japan joined other industrial nations in equippingits military forces a repeating bolt-action rifle that fired smokelesspowder cartridges. In all, 3,400,000 Arisaka Type 38 rifles were built. After WW2, they saw action during the Chinese Civil War with both sides and the Korean War with the Communist Chinese forces. Manufacturing of Arisaka Type 38 rifles did not cease until the end of WW2, but existing models remained in service.
Many Chinese troops, both Nationalist and Communist, used captured Arisaka Type 38 rifles against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many captured Arisaka Type 38 rifles were also used in neighboring countries as they become captured. The two models served concurrently in the Japanese Army. They were also used in the British Royal Navy, the Russian Army, and in Finland.īy the mid-1930s, however, it was clear that the design was becoming outdated, and resources were invested to create that would become the Arisaka Type 99 rifles, which entered production in 1939. In addition to being the standard rifles in pre-WW2 Japan, they were also exported the Czech Legion that fought in the Russian Revolution, for example, carried Arisaka Type 38 rifles, among other weapons. A shorter carbine version of the rifle was also manufactured, used mainly by cavalry units and non-frontline troops the carbines were only 966-mm in length. They were the longest rifles among their contemporaries even before the 400-mm Type 30 bayonets were attached, making them rather unwieldy the length of the rifles reflected the emphasis of bayonet fighting in Japanese Army doctrine during that era. Peter Chen ww2dbaseThe Arisaka Type 38 bolt-action rifles, also known as Meiji 38th Year (1905) rifles, were the standard infantry rifles of the pre-WW2 Japanese Army.