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Korea Defense Units
| Inscribed 'Korean Border, Saebyol Defense Unit, Commemorative'. Saebyol is on the border of China and North Korea. |
| 'Saebyol' read from the right. |
From the annexation of Korea (1910) to the end of WW2, Japanese
troops have been stationed in a number of Korean cities. On cups
you will often see 'Korea' written before a regiment number.
A bit more scarce are the names of the actual cities where troops
were stationed. These are all written in kanji, but post-war Japanese
uses the phonetic script so many of these names in kanji are
unknown even to Japanese. So a bit of research is needed. Old maps
help a lot, but online resources (usually in Japanese) also are a good
aid.
Below are some cups with the names of Korean cities. I have
included close-ups of the kanji to help others identify city names on
their own cups.
troops have been stationed in a number of Korean cities. On cups
you will often see 'Korea' written before a regiment number.
A bit more scarce are the names of the actual cities where troops
were stationed. These are all written in kanji, but post-war Japanese
uses the phonetic script so many of these names in kanji are
unknown even to Japanese. So a bit of research is needed. Old maps
help a lot, but online resources (usually in Japanese) also are a good
aid.
Below are some cups with the names of Korean cities. I have
included close-ups of the kanji to help others identify city names on
their own cups.
Inscribed 'North Korea, Sinasan Defense, Discharge
Commemorative'. Sinasan is near the Chinese border, in
North Hamgyong Province.
Commemorative'. Sinasan is near the Chinese border, in
North Hamgyong Province.
'Sinasan': 3 kanji, read from top to bottom.
The place is actually a village, and it usually
has an additional kanji (ri) at the end.
The place is actually a village, and it usually
has an additional kanji (ri) at the end.
Inscribed 'Discharge Commemorative,
Youngsan [Korea] 79th Infantry, Sakurai'.
Youngsan [Korea] 79th Infantry, Sakurai'.
| Youngsan. Note that the first kanji is a simplified version of the one shown above. |
Inscribed 'Discharge Commemorative,
Youngsan [Korea] 79th Infantry'.
Youngsan [Korea] 79th Infantry'.
| Youngsan, a city near Seoul where the IJA had its Korean headquarters. |