Quote:
|
The "mum" (actually a chrysanthemum, but spelling mum is so much easier) was simply a mark signifying that the rifle was Imperial property, and the Japanese felt that surrendering a rifle bearing that mark showed "disrepect" to their "Emperor"; therefore, rifles which were surrendered as part of an agreement were normally "demilled" by having the mums ground off.
|
Saved me the time of typing that up, thanks!
Saving face was and is in-grained into many cultures