| NIKUDAN SANYUSHI: Human Bullets, 3 Brave Warriors (often abbreviated in English to '3 Human Bullets'. |
| Postcard with 3 soldiers and one of their mothers |
| Postcard with 3 soldiers' mothers getting money from government |
| Commemorative plate. |
| Engraved on reverse of sake cup |
| An explosion on media images celebrating the war in China hit the country around 1931. Among these images, the most famous is the Nikudan Sanyushi. These were 3 soldiers who were blown up in the line of duty in Shanghai. 'The army publicized the three deaths as a conscious act of suicide, claiming the young men had sacrificed themselves to explode a section of wire fence impeding the army's advance. Various rumors circulated at the time contradicting the army's account. Some said the three had died because their commanding officer cut the fuse too short or because he had given them the wrong type of fuse; others suggested that the men attempted to abandon their mission but their commander ordered them to follow through.' from Louise Young's Japan's Total Empire (page 77). This fad was really popular for about a year, but it faded as other topics became the new fad. Most of these Nikudan items, then, date from 1931-1933. Note that there was also a 5 Human Bomb group also popular in the media at the time. Click on this link to see some rare Nikudan tokkuri. And CLICK HERE to see more Nikudan Sanyushi commemorative items. |
| More sake cups |
| 3 kanji reading SANYUSHI |
| NIKUDAN SANYUSHI Commemorative badges |
| Embossed on tokkuri with poem lauding the three soldiers. |
| Superb 3-bottle set. The original helmet cups were a bit smaller; the cups shown are just some kabuto cups I had. Note the burning fuses on the bombs. Click HERE to see some original helmet sizes. |
| Pencil case |
| Another postcard |
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| Embossed on tokkuri |
| The three suicide bombers are embossed with painted helmets, the bomb fuse is lit (painted red) and the wires of the front line are painted brown. Very impressive. Inscribed '37th Infantry, Inada Yutsuku, Discharge Commemorative'. |
