Hello, I was reading observations from American and British observers of the Russo Japanese war and they state that IJA soldiers were issued a blue cloth hold all, (when the Japanese expected combat they would drop tornisters and stuff rations and ammo into the hold all. I believe the sketches are from the British observers. Would perplexes me is that the sketch depicting how the thing was worn also seems to depict a second one over the other shoulder and securing the entrenching tool. None of the observers seemed to mention it (though I may have been less than thorough in my reading). Interestingly the Ukiyo - e of the battle of Nanshan depicts most of the IJA soldiers with the dual hold all arrangement. Does anyone know if this was standard issue and whether IJA soldiers dropped their tornisters for khaki tube packs (while the blue ones were reserved specifically for the attack?).

Thanks,

Chris