Japanese Military Timepieces of WWII by Konrad Knirim (Germany) (translation by Donall O'Ceallaigh. Introduction This is a difficult topic for a European collector. Historical arti- facts and collector's pieces relating to Japanese military timepieces of this era are not easily found in Europe. The language barrier and cultural background, which is so different from European culture, also present obstacles. The author would like to thank those who made possible the completion of this difficult task. Don Wright of Tulsa, Oklahoma, played a crucial role, making his collection avail able to be photographed hy the author. Some of the pictures used were by Kesaharu Imai, and were taken from WEP (World Photo Press) publications. And some of the photos used were by Steffen Rohner, The author discovered several photos depicting kamikaze pilots wearing watches and clocks hung around their necks at a special exhibition by the Royal Navy at its Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, Somerset, England, Tadashi Noda, of WPP, helped in identifying and deciphering the markings. not possible to explain how the Japanese Army and Navy acquired and distributed these timepieces, as Japanese air power was just 3 component of the Army and Navy, It was also not possible to properly outline the origins of the watches in this article. For example, it is difficult to know to what degree Unfortunately, it was August 2002 ® Figure 1, above. Kanji character for the ‘Time Figure 2, right. Shio’s chronometer Seikasha no, V-872, featuring a detent escapement, reverse fusee, and decorated plates. The three- part mahogany box has electrical contacts, they were copied from Swiss mod ls, It is a fact that from the 1920s ‘on, Japan worked to develop navi- gational timepieces. However, all prototypes were destroyed by fire during the development stage of these timepieces. As a result of this catastrophe, the madel built along the lines of Ulysse Nardin’s chronometer became the most important and predominant type used by the Japanes Tt has long been recognized that timekeeping plays an important role in both military and civilian life. Countries such as England, America, Germany, and Japan had their own military timepieces, which were comparatively similar in design. Because, as stated above, Japanese military timepiecos are seldom found in European collec- tions, this report can in no way be seen as authoritative. There have also been only a few published reports on Japanese military clocks up until now. The Society of Military Horologists, NAWCC. Chapter 143, has so far published two of those: “Japanese Aviation Timepieces,” by Gary D. Nila, pub- lished in 1993, and a photographic NAWCC BuLLerNy piece, “A Collection of WWII Japanese Military Timepieces,” by John Mitchell (England), published in 1998. For the most part these articles showed variants of the watches dealt with in this article, Manufacturers Almost every Japanese military timepiece soon to date has carried the mark of watch manufaeturers *Seikosha” or “K. Hattori,” the fore- runners of the modern-day Seiko Co, Ltd., Ginza Tokyo, Japan. The mark of another producer, Aiti ‘Tokei Denki KK, appeared on a ship's clock and also on a timed detonator. Swiss and German prod- ucts, in particular chronographs and wristwatches, were undoubt- edly worn by Japanese flight crows as well Ship's Chronometers The Seikosha chronometer shown here in Figures 1-6 is marked ‘V-872." It sits in a throo- part wooden casing with spyglass and has the same identifying “V- 872" on the movement, dial, and 449Figure 3, Figure 5, Figures 3 to 6. Soikosha chronomater no. V-872, here showing Identification number on the movement, dial, and box. The movement seems to be identical to the Ulysse Nardin and may have been either licensed or copied. The dial marking says ‘Seiko" in Katakana and Kanji and “meridian.” The tag shows the inspection mark of the Navy, the anchor. Figure 4, Figure 7, below. Ulysse Nardin movement. 450. ease. The movement is of excellent workmanship, with a chronometer escapement and fusee. It was copied from, or licensed to be built by, Ulysse Nardin (compare Figures 5 and 7). The Kanji and Katakana characters for “Sei Meridian” are marked on the dial above the middle axis. The small inscription at the bottom edge of the dial face cannot as yet be deci phered, An electrical seconds con- tact, needed to control slave clocks fas well as other signals, was con- ducted through an inner and outer plug located on the wooden casing. NAWCC ButtenN Ship's Wall Clocks Ship's wall clocks with one-week movements, such as various ver sions by Seikosha, are relatively common. Take, for example, the piece numbered 11227 (Figures 8 and 9)."The inscription on the dial translates as “One-Week “Movement.” The casing has boon numbered “A831.” Astonishingly, the ship’s wall elock, number 104, from Aiti Tokei Denki KK. Nagoya, Japan, only had a one-day move ment (Figures 10 and 11). The inseription on the dial translates as: “One-Day Movement Mod. 1.7 ‘August 2002Figure 8, Figures 8 and 9. Ship's wall clock 11227." The bezel shows the marking cf the Navy and the ca: made by Aiti Tokei Denki KK. Nagoya, The dial marking states, ‘No.104, 1 day movement, mod. 1 no. "A831 Figure 9. Seikosha, Tokyo. The wording on the dial states, “1 wack movement no, Figures 10 and 11. Ship’s wall clock The bezel shows the sign of "Ati" in Latin and Kanji, the Navy mark, and case no.B 238, Note that the winding arbor is counter clock- wise Figure 10. On the easing edge is the Navy anchor and the number “B238” A small yet unusual detail is the ‘counterclockwise winding arbor. August 2002 Specialized Timepieces ‘The Japanese military machine, with its many and varied func- tions, needed a large and varied supply of timekeepers. The more unusual timepieces included a NAWCC Buutenn ae oe Figure 11. timed detonator setup, a dark room clock, and a surveillance control clock. It is not clear what the Navy timed detonator number 1235 by Aiti ‘Tokei Denki Co. Ltd. was used