Protector Charm/Dog Tag-0007

This is a really neat Protector Charm/Dog Tag combination for a Japanese Army Officer.  The wool cloth pouch is hand-made from 6 layers of heavy, thick material.  The layers alternate in an interesting color combination of khaki green-red-khaki green-red, etc., pattern.  The pouch is closed with what appears to be a brass-gold colored uniform pocket button.  A heavy cloth loop on the reverse of the pouch allowed it to be hung around the wearer’s neck.  The metal dog tag piece measures approximately 1.50″ wide X 2.25″ high and appears to be made from a heavy brass metal.  There are 2 large brass loops that allow the dog tag to be worn around the neck if desired.  A long line of engraved kanji characters on the front of the metal tag translates to: “Army Infantry 2nd. Lt. Makata.”  Large, heavy metal tags like this were sometimes kept in the shirt pocket, near the heart as a good luck piece.  It was sometimes hoped that they would be able to deflect a bullet or piece of shrapnel if the owner was lucky enough.