Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) operated on the belief that a small, powerful, technologically superior fleet was the the optimum strategy for their Navy. The development of the Japanese navy was groundbreaking and at the same time a huge drain on the resources of the country. In the early part of the 1920s over 30 percent of Japans national budget went to the IJN
They launched the world's first purpose built aircraft carrier in 1921, developed hugely powerful long range weapons that could target enemy ships further away and more accurately than any other navy, purpose built anti aircraft weapons and reliable torpedoes, all of which added to the devastating effectiveness of the IJN in the Pacific war, particularly from the air. By the time of the attack on Pearl harbour the IJN had 10 battleships and aircraft carriers at least 60 submarines and a numerous supporting vessels, typically a large Battleship like the Yamato would have a heavily armed cruiser and 6 or more destroyers as a protective escort
Life for a Japanese seaman was tough from the outset, training was long and harsh and the heavily armed Japanese ships had cramped quarters and sparse provision for any kind of crew comfort, Emphasis was placed on fitness and battle readiness, drills were constant and dangerous, often leading to casualties. Crews were also very specialised on the technically advanced ships which made it difficult to replace the men lost in combat and training, ultimately leading to increased crew shortages as the war progressed.
Seiko, as usual, were the predominant suppliers of watches to the IJN but few examples survive to this day so collectors value them very highly and few come to market





Case
Polished 31mm case, 33mm at the crown, 7.9mm deep, 36.3mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width
Case Interior, 26.8mm diameter, 5.5mm deep. 56mm crown, 26mm glass.
Dial
White Dial with black printed minute/second scale,
Hours indicated by large black Arabic numbers with a smaller scale inside reading up to 24 hours in red
trapezoid shaped black hands and a slim black seconds hand
Strap
Black PU leather strap 116mm wide at the lugs narrows to 14mm buckle, approx. fitting 170/210mm