Artifact Friday: Type 14 Nambu Pistol

Throughout World War II and many wars before and after, it has been customary for a

surrendering officer to offer their pistol to the enemy officer who had bested them. The

tradition of surrendering one’s weapon has been widely used since the 16th century and likely

occurred long before then. By the time of World War II, it was a sign of submission for an officer

of a Western nation to hand over their service weapon, and the victor would have the

opportunity to let them keep it as a sign of respect. In Japan, however, there was no such thing

as an honorable surrender. This is why Japan’s total surrender on September 2nd, 1945, caused a worldwide sigh of relief.

Japan’s military traditions and ideals during World War II can only be described as

extremist and fanatical. To surrender was the ultimate disgrace to the Japanese military, as they

viewed themselves as honorable warriors. Unlike Western leaders, the idea of surrender could

not possibly be honorable. Oftentimes, Japanese officers would opt for ritual suicide over

surrender.

When Japan finally did surrender, Emperor Hirohito ordered all Japanese military units

to surrender, and their officers were to hand over their swords and pistols to their Allied Forces

counterparts. Although this order was not received well and was not executed smoothly, that is

how we received a Type 14 Nambu Pistol of our own. While the deck of the USS Missouri

hosted the surrender treaty signing, countless smaller surrenders were occurring across China

and the Pacific for many days. The final surrender did not occur until 1974, 28 years, 6 months,

and 9 days after the official end of World War II.