Description
This is an original Imperial Japanese Army commemorative sake cup associated with the 9th Infantry Regiment and its deployment to Manchuria.
The inscriptions inside the cup read:
“Manchuria Deployment”
“Commemoration of Leaving the Barracks”
“Military Valor”
“Infantry 9”
The underside is additionally marked:
“Okamura”
which appears to be a personal surname connected with the piece.
“Infantry 9” refers to the Imperial Japanese Army’s 9th Infantry Regiment, a historic unit based in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.
The regiment had a history of deployment to Manchuria. However, because this cup does not carry a date, it is not possible to determine with certainty which specific Manchurian deployment it commemorates.
The words “Commemoration of Leaving the Barracks” provide a more personal clue.
This was not battlefield equipment. It was made to commemorate a soldier reaching an important transition in his military service—leaving barracks after serving with his regiment and having experienced deployment to Manchuria.
The name Okamura makes the piece particularly evocative. If it represents the original soldier, this cup preserves a small fragment of one individual’s military history:
9th Infantry Regiment.
Manchuria.
Leaving military barracks.
Okamura.
Sake cups had a particularly important place in the lives of Japanese soldiers.
In Japan, sharing sake has traditionally accompanied major moments of departure, reunion, celebration, and farewell. Military service became part of that culture. Soldiers received or commissioned commemorative sake cups for occasions such as enlistment, deployment, return from overseas service, and completion of active duty.
For this reason, a military sake cup was more than simply a drinking vessel.
It could become a personal souvenir of military service—something a soldier could carry home after leaving the Army and keep as a reminder of the men, places, and experiences of his service years.
This example shows age-related wear, fading to the gilt decoration, staining, surface marks, and other signs of age. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.
A small object, but one that preserves the regiment, an overseas deployment, a soldier’s transition back from barracks life, and perhaps even his name.
Own a Piece of History.
The inscriptions inside the cup read:
“Manchuria Deployment”
“Commemoration of Leaving the Barracks”
“Military Valor”
“Infantry 9”
The underside is additionally marked:
“Okamura”
which appears to be a personal surname connected with the piece.
“Infantry 9” refers to the Imperial Japanese Army’s 9th Infantry Regiment, a historic unit based in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.
The regiment had a history of deployment to Manchuria. However, because this cup does not carry a date, it is not possible to determine with certainty which specific Manchurian deployment it commemorates.
The words “Commemoration of Leaving the Barracks” provide a more personal clue.
This was not battlefield equipment. It was made to commemorate a soldier reaching an important transition in his military service—leaving barracks after serving with his regiment and having experienced deployment to Manchuria.
The name Okamura makes the piece particularly evocative. If it represents the original soldier, this cup preserves a small fragment of one individual’s military history:
9th Infantry Regiment.
Manchuria.
Leaving military barracks.
Okamura.
Sake cups had a particularly important place in the lives of Japanese soldiers.
In Japan, sharing sake has traditionally accompanied major moments of departure, reunion, celebration, and farewell. Military service became part of that culture. Soldiers received or commissioned commemorative sake cups for occasions such as enlistment, deployment, return from overseas service, and completion of active duty.
For this reason, a military sake cup was more than simply a drinking vessel.
It could become a personal souvenir of military service—something a soldier could carry home after leaving the Army and keep as a reminder of the men, places, and experiences of his service years.
This example shows age-related wear, fading to the gilt decoration, staining, surface marks, and other signs of age. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.
A small object, but one that preserves the regiment, an overseas deployment, a soldier’s transition back from barracks life, and perhaps even his name.
Own a Piece of History.