Kempeitai Armband

1,753 · March 8, 2019

Gents,

I have a Japanese Military Police (kempeitai) armband that has been reproduced over the past few years. Frankly, I don't know if this is an original period MP armband or not. I will describe it.

The white cotton twill armband consists of two pieces of cloth sewn together and it is neatly stitched around all four edges. There is no writing or printing on the back side. The words for kempeitai are printed in red ink on the front side. The cloth appears to have genuine age and spotting to it and it does not react to black light. There are two un-faded areas on either side of the kanji that appear to be the shape of a small metal Police star but there is nothing attached to the armband in that area. Perhaps something is missing? There are two spots on the edges which look like the armband was thumb tacked to something for long enough for the tacks to rust and leave a ring. There is an old safety pin at the top that appears to have been in a pierced area for a long period of time. There are four non-magnetic metal grommets on the ends of the armband that appear to be brass. There are two white cords placed through the grommets to tighten the armband in place.

Thanks for looking and I would be interested in your thoughts.