Japanese watch fobs, Victory and Eagles

[Bob Hudson]

I am assuming the VICTORY fob is from Japanese baseball, but  I wondered if the other two were military? Thanks for any and all input.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

Any thoughts on the origin of these?

[Fortunes Of War]

Bob-

     I am by-no means a FOB expert, but I don't think either of the FOBs on the left-hand side are army or navy versions.  They don't have the usual appearance of an army or navy example.  Note that most army FOBs have a propellor and/or the army star on them (photo courtesy of Dan Griffin's website.)  I'll try and locate a navy example and post here when I am able.

 

[Joe]

The victory one says 北海道新聞社 (Hokkaido Newspaper Company), although in an archaic script used on seals and such.

 

I searched on google and one almost exactly like the other two showed up, although in this case with the same 北海道新聞社 on the back. The character on the front is 賞 (prize/award). 

 

I think its safe to say they are not military related.

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

Thanks gentlemen. I have seen others with VICTORY, mostly related to baseball. Seems odd that an English language word was used on those.

[Fortunes Of War]

Just to finish off the illustration, here is a Japanese navy graduation award FOB for telegrapher.  Many navy FOBs appear to have the sakura blossom on them, as well as the emblem of the school from which they were awarded.  FOBs were commonly awarded by the Japanese for all sorts of events.  Many are seen awarded for martial arts, including kendo, etc.  Others were awarded for baseball, running, etc.  The English word "victory" is often seen.

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

On 11/3/2021 at 9:17 AM, Joe said:

although in an archaic script used on seals and such.

 

Does that mean these FOBs were pre-WWII?

[Joe]

4 hours ago, Bob Hudson said:

 

Does that mean these FOBs were pre-WWII?

 

Could be pre- or post-war. The use of that script/font on its own doesn't say much and it was not something ever really standardized. It is based on a writing style thousands of years old and purposefully archaic for stylistic reasons. Even today you can see this style used on things such as official seals stamped onto documents or on the cover of the current Japanese passport.