Family Photo Chita Russia 1919

[GeorgeCL]

Heres an interesting photo taken in Chita 1919 during the Russian civil war.

The two Russian kids are my Great Uncles Boris and Gleb.

The japanese soilders name is, I think Masao Hisamito.

Can anyone help with the japanese rank?

I understand there was a force of 75000 japanese in Chita helping the Whites fight.

Thanks

George

[GeorgeCL]

The reverse of photo

George

[Paul L Murphy]

What a wonderful photo. How many stars are on his shoulder badge ? With one central gold stripe he is an NCO so depending on the number of stars a corporal, sergeant or senior sergeant.

[MJMartin]

George, I agree with Paul, what a wonderful piece of history. The history and saga between Japan and the rest of the world from the start of the Meiji restoration on is full of these types of stories. Japan is a great case study for any collector becuase of this. Thanks for sharing and I hope that Paul's insight helped.

[GeorgeCL]

Thanks for the info Paul and MJ.

I will try and get a better scan of the board to figure his rank.

Are there any good books about the Japanese in Russia at the time of the civil war.

I have tried gauntlet press etc. but I guess its a pretty obscure part of history.

Thanks again.

George

[GeorgeCL]

Heres abetter scan of the strap. Looks like 3 gold stars. So this is a senior sergeant?

.

Thanks

George

[MJMartin]

I hope that Paul can help with the ranking. As far as the history books go, it is tough pickings. I did a search for "Modern Japanese Military History" that goes from 1867-1945, and I found almost nothing. Now, there is quite a bit written about 1936-1945 and the Russo-Jap War, but about the other conflicts there are only brief overviews in general military books. I even searched the largest public library in the world (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and found little. I bet that there is something in Japanese written, but my Japanese is very weak. The publishing company called "Ospery" may have something about the Russo-Jap War and the Second World War. Does anyone know any sources of Japanese Military History from 1867-1945 that is comprehensive in English?

[Richard LaTondre]

What a wonderful photo. How many stars are on his shoulder badge ? With one central gold stripe he is an NCO so depending on the number of stars a corporal, sergeant or senior sergeant.

That is indeed a great photograph. It appears that the soldier is wearing the rank of Sergeant Major. Two stars would be Sergeant, and one star would be Corporal. What would be of great interest would be the color of his collar tabs which would denote his service branch, i.e., Cavalry, infantry, engineers, etc.. His unit numbers are pretty well faded. The sword appears to be the Model 1898 type 32 that is identified on page 14 of "Japanese Military Uniforms 1930 - 1945" as "Sergeant Major Sword".

Baron General Yasumasa Fukushima, while as a young Major reconoitering the Russian Trans-Siberian Railroad prior to the 1904 War, makes the following entry in his journal on January 15th 1893:

"I descended the Yablonovy Mountains and arrived at the outskirts of the city of Chita. This is my 11th day of travel since leaving Ulan Ude. Chita city had a population of 12,000 inhabitants controlled by the local military governor. The area was known as the highlands plateau area and rainfall was very scant due to the city's location East of the mountains. The land is very poor for agriculture and there is no apparent industry. There is not even a bank in the city"

Dick LaTondre

[GeorgeCL]

Thanks Dick,

here's the only other photo I can find with thJapanese soilder.

He is wearing a lighter colored uniform and the tabs are quite dark. Red?

A much more casual photo.

Child in front is Gleb and behind him is his Mother My GGrandmother.

Masao Hisamitsu may have been a family friend..My GGrandparents had business contacts in Japan before the revolution 1918.

They only lived in Chita for 2 yrs.

1919 1920 then moved to Harbin.

Thanks

George

[Richard LaTondre]

Thanks Dick,

here's the only other photo I can find with thJapanese soilder.

He is wearing a lighter colored uniform and the tabs are quite dark. Red?

A much more casual photo.

Child in front is Gleb and behind him is his Mother My GGrandmother.

Masao Hisamitsu may have been a family friend..My GGrandparents had business contacts in Japan before the revolution 1918.

George, I think you may be right. The color red would denote infantry and that would certainly make sense.

If he were wearing boots and the tab was green it would be cavalry.

You should contact "Yash" (S. G. Yasinitsky) OMSA member #0001. He lived in that area as a kid and later moved to Harbin. You might have some things in common.

Dick

They only lived in Chita for 2 yrs.

1919 1920 then moved to Harbin.

Thanks

George

[GeorgeCL]

Hi Dick,

Yash has seen my album and helped id lots of the photos of Harbin for me.

He was there the same time as my grandparents and my father was born there as well.

Thanks again for your help.

George