Nagant23

That's a very happy coincidence that there is a Kudo in the same overall division as Sakata. Although it obviously is up to speculation, I can definitely see a situation where Kudo is transferred out of Sakata's regiment and subsequently promoted by the end of the war, Captain is only one rank away from 1LT after all, and I'm sure they had plenty of O-3 slots to fill after Iwo Jima and American raids. Maybe he just didn't find the time to change the rank on his holster within that time period. Once again, I am extremely grateful for your time and effort, you've at least given me some plausible speculation on this pistol's history. Unfortunately, this is probably as close to an answer as we will ever get though.

The paper work isn't very descriptive, just stating that it was registered while the marine was on occupation duty. I did however managed to find a commander in the IJA 109th Infantry division with the name. 12th Independent Mixed Regiment: Colonel Zenichi Sakata Given that this Division was operating in the Ogasawara Subprefecture at the end of the war, it would make sense that this might be the unit that Lt. Kudo was serving with, if it was indeed named after it's commander. Here's a picture of the entire rig, it's a very neat piece of history and I'm glad that it's found it's way into my collection. Also apparently the marine also had his named carved into the holster in kanji, not sure why he did that.

Thank you for the translations, I greatly appreciate the help. There were probably many Lt. Kudos as well, so tracking him down as an individual will probably be impossible. I'm not sure if Sakata would refer to units stationed around that city, or just named after it. Also last night I actually discovered that there was more kanji on the outside flap of the holster. the characters are rather large, but blended in so well with the dark leather that I just didn't notice them until now. I know that this is an absolute long shot because they are barely legible in person under the right lighting, let alone on camera, but would you have any idea what this kanji might translate to? I've tried my best to get somewhat visible photos, but only a couple characters show up semi decently on camera.

Hello, I was recommended to come here with a translation request. I recently acquired a Type 94 Nambu pistol with original holster and bring back paperwork, and discovered a few lines of Kanji on the inside of the holster. I have been able to translate nearly all of it, discovering that it belong to a 1LT Kudo, but I cannot make out what his unit name is. If anyone can make out what the characters above 部隊 are, it would be greatly appreciated. I included a few pictures with different lighting, as the characters in question are faded, and don't show up on camera very ideally.