Japan

Japan

Japan (日本) renounced its right to declare war in the aftermath of the Second World War, but nevertheless maintains a sizeable and well-trained armed force. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (自衛隊 or Jieitai), established in 1954, consist of the Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Since 1992, the National Diet has permitted the JSDF to participate in international peacekeeping efforts around the world of a non-combatant nature. These efforts have included limited involvement in Iraq, Haiti, and Somalia.

Camouflage uniforms were initially only issued to members of the 1st Airborne Division of the JSDF, although over time conventional Army ground units would receive them. In 1991 most of the JGSDF would be outfitted in camouflage.

Japanese Camouflage Patterns

• Japanese snipers serving in the Pacific often issued utilitarian camouflaged smocks, reminiscent of British ghillie suits, that were historically worn by fishermen as rain garments. The smocks were made from sheets of shaggy, reddish-brown fibres that grow at the base of coconut trees, sewn together to form a loose-fitting covering. These smocks were documented by the US Army and published in photographs by the US Army Intelligence Service as early as 1942.

• The first contemporary camouflage pattern of Japanese design was introduced circa 1965 on the "Type 1 Camouflage Uniform." The design, having black, reddish-brown, and medium green woodland shapes on a pale green background, was initially issued to members of the 1st Airborne Brigade and is often associated with that unit. Some Japanese sources have referred to the design colloquially as "Hokkaido," "Northern," and "Kunai" camouflage, the latter of which may refer to a medieval trowel or hand-tool with a spike on one end. By 1980, a second version of the camouflage pattern had been printed. The early version of this camouflage design has earned the nickname "gapped" due to the appearance of gaps between some of the shapes in the design not present in the later version; however, close examination reveals that, in fact, there are distintive differences in the shapes found within the early (1st) and later (2nd) versions. By the early 1980s, the pattern would see use by conventional Japanese ground units. Within Western collecting circles, the pattern is sometimes referred to as "Fang" pattern. This design became outdated in 1992 with the introduction of the "dots" design.

• A camouflage design based on the original Type 1 Camouflage Uniform drawings was introduced in 1988 for issue to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Ground Defense and Airbase Security Personnel. The design is essentially a re-coloration of the original pattern, with darker colors. This pattern's use has continued into the present era, but is gradually being replaced by a digital design.

• A new camouflage design based on the German Army's flecktarn was introduced in 1991 for issue to the entire JNSDF. The pattern features black, brown and grass green dots on a khaki background, and is produced in a variety of uniform pieces (collectively the Type 2 and later Type 3 Camouflage Uniforms) as well as field equipment. The pattern is often called Jietai (自衛隊) in reference to the indigenous name for the JNSDF.

• A winter version of the Jietai dots pattern having a higher concentration of brown has been produced for a cold weather jacket and Goretex all-weather gear. The primary difference in the pattern seems to be an inverse ratio of green to brown.

• JSDF personnel operating in mountainous regions and snowy conditions wear a special all-white insulated winter uniform.

• Circa 1991, a desert camouflage pattern was fielded, reputedly in anticipation of Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel deploying to Iraq and North Africa, but was never actually issued to deploying personnel. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Ground Defense and Airbase Security Personnel are likely to have been recipients of many test uniforms during the 1990s, since the pattern is associated with the JASDF in several Japanese sources. Similar in appearance to the US six-color desert "chocolate chip" pattern, the design is actually a re-coloration of the old JSDF and JASDF Ground Forces "fang" designs, with the addition of black chip elements.

• First seen in 2008, the JSDF adopted a desert camouflage uniform loosely-based on the US tricolor desert pattern, but reduced in overall size and again incorporating some elements of the traditional "Fang" design. This was initially worn by JASDF personnel serving in Iraq (circa 2004) but would later be replaced by a variation of the "fleck" pattern with desert color palette.

• Located at Camp Takigahara ((滝ヶ原駐屯地) in Shizuoka Prefecture, the Fuji Training School is a primary training facility for units of the JGSDF and home to the Training Evaluation Unit (部隊訓練評価隊), whose duties include serving as Aggressor Force (OPFOR) during training exercises. A re-coloration of the original Type 1 Camouflage Uniform "Fang" pattern with a strong yellow tint is often worn by the TEU when operating in the Aggressor role. Use of this pattern can be traced back to 2009.

• Ground Defense and Airbase Security Personnel of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force were the first Japanese military personnel to be issued a pixelated camouflage design, as seen here. This pattern was originally introduced in 2009. It is interesting to note that the colors chosen are actually quite similar to the original JSDF pattern introduced in the 1980s.

• A later incarnation of the Jietai dots pattern is printed on ripstop camouflage fabric, as seen here.

• Japanese military personnel deployed to East Africa in 2012 have worn a recolored desert version of the Jietai dots pattern camouflage, having brown and khaki dots on a sandy background.

• Selected personnel of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) are issued with a pixelated camouflage design having a blue/purple colorway, introduced in the early part of 2010.

Experimental and Unofficial Camouflage Patterns

• Historians of Tiger Stripe pattern camouflage know that the vast majority of designs worn by personnel during the Vietnam War were fabricated outside the Republic of Vietnam, even though they were being produced for Vietnamese (and allied) soldiers. Manufacturers in Japan (and Okinawa) certainly produced some of these wartime patterns, although thorough documentation still eludes the collecting community as to precisely which of the Japanese designs made their way to Southeast Asia. A piece of tiger stripe history that is seldom mentioned, however, is that the Japanese Ministry of Defence also considered adopting tiger pattern camouflage for its personnel, as early as 1961 or 1962. Although extant samples are incredibly uncommon, they are known to exist, as do (reputedly) photographs of JSDF personnel wearing what were presumably only test or trial uniforms. Several Japanese trial tiger patterns are referred to in a number of Japanese collector forums, and have been given various names based on the manufacturing companies, such as "Kitadokoro Tiger" (made by Kitadokoro Coporation), "Matsudo Tiger" (produced by Matsudo Supply Center), and apparently another design made by Northern Supply Shop. It is unknown precisely when these shops were producing tiger stripe camouflage for testing by the JSDF, but it would be logical to conclude they may all have had some connection to the Vietnam War era tiger stripe production uniforms that were supplied to South Vietnam and American forces. The example seen here is very closely related to the Vietnamese Marine Corps design and Japanese researchers seem to refer to it as the "Northern Army Tiger" (aka "Hokkaido Tiger"), possibly tested by the 32nd Regiment. It seems likely this actually pre-dates the adoption of the VNMC pattern, as it seems to lack a specific "hook" feature found in the Vietnamese design. Sadly, the manufacturer and date are as yet undocumented.

• This tiger stripe example is from a uniform produced by the Marubeni Corporation with a 1965 manufacturing date , the same date of the earliest known examples of JSDF "Fang" camouflage uniforms. Unfortunately as yet the full print of the design has not been made clear, so we can only guess which ARVN tiger pattern it may be related to.

• Personnel of the 1st Airborne Brigade were the first Japanese troops to utilize sections of US "spot" pattern parachute fabric to create covers for their helmets in the 1970s, a practice which was later adopted by conventional JSDF troops as well.

Comparison Photographs

• Comparison of the Japanese Type 1 Camouflage Uniform 1st and 2nd pattern prints

• Comparision of the Japanese Air Force pattern with the Japanese Army Type 1 pattern

• Comparision of the Japanese Air Force desert pattern with the Japanese Air Force pattern

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mr. Nate Lee for providing additional research and documentation for this page, as well as several unnamed Japanese researchers.