Can someone who reads Japanese please tell me what this says. It's 18-20 bullets packed in paper. One end is taped.

Thanks

2

3

Except for one, the bullets visible are badly corroded.

I suppose the wrapper is stamped "Corroded Bullets - Do Not Use"

BTW - there is no head stamp on the bullets.

Any guesses appreciated.

Dave

It is 8 mm bottle neck ammo for a type 14 Nambu semiauto pistol.
An after thought it also fits the type 94 semiauto pistol. The 94 is the very worst military pistol ever made. If there is a round chambered they can go off without pulling the trigger.
Steve

Dave, that's not a standard nor typical package. I think it was repacked. Might not even be Japanese. Could very well be Chinese. I've never seen Japanese pistol ammo wrapped like that OR stamped like that.

The marking I can decipher on the packaging - the small characters begin with "Tokyo". It would be easier to read if the photos were inverted since the writing is upside down.

Original Nambu ammo can command a good price.

Here are 3 better pictures of the printing on the paper, this time right side up.

The bullets do fit in my Nambu Type 14

2

3

The first two large kanji on the left are for Kempeitai, Military Police. Literally the next two mean "control now" so it could be a compound for "inspection".

Perhaps the original package was rewrapped and the receiving unit stamped it. It appears that the outer wrapping is glued in place so conceivably the typical munition factory stamps are underneath on the actual box.

Thanks

Kempetai ? I think these were real bad guys - sort of a combination Military Police, Gestapo, Waffen SS.

There is a box underneath of thin brownish cardboard. It has been wrapped in 2-3 layers of this brown paper. I cannot figure out how I would get the paper off.

Any of the other characters readable?

Any guess on value ?

Thanks
Dave

Kempeitai was known for its "efficiency" in the occupied areas but otherwise, it's just military police. The first three kanji on the right "Tokyo Metropolitan..." is probably a depot or other location designation.

I wouldn't try to remove the paper.

Value...I think a regular marked box of ammo is around $100 or so. The Kempeitai stamp might get someone excited and up the value. I don't collect this sort of thing so I can't say how much more a real enthusiast would pay.