Antique Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Togo Mikasa Tsushima War Paperweight
This is an antique Japanese naval commemorative metal paperweight featuring Admiral Heihachiro Togo, one of the most famous figures in Imperial Japanese naval history. The front shows a relief portrait of Admiral Togo in full military uniform and decorations. The reverse carries an even more historically significant inscription: The fate of the Empire depends upon this battle. Let every man do his utmost. ” followed by: “Count Heihachiro Togo. ” The original Japanese reads: “?????? This message is closely associated with the opening of the Battle of Tsushima, the decisive naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War. In May 1905, Russia’s Baltic Fleet-after sailing thousands of miles from Europe-approached Japanese waters for what would become one of the most famous naval battles of the early 20th century. Waiting for it was the Japanese Combined Fleet under Admiral Togo. His flagship was Mikasa. The resulting battle ended in a devastating defeat for the Russian fleet and transformed Togo into an internationally known naval commander. That is what makes the combination on this paperweight so powerful: Admiral Togo. And the famous words associated with the Battle of Tsushima. This is not simply a portrait souvenir. It preserves, in one small object, three symbols of one of the most important moments in modern Japanese naval history. Another important point is that the same type of Togo paperweight appears in the Japanese militaria reference book Imperial Japanese Army & Navy 2, in the section titled Amulets and Paperweights. The present piece itself does not bear a manufacturing date, so its exact production year cannot be confirmed. However, the appearance of the same type in a specialist Japanese militaria reference is an important reference point when evaluating this piece as a period military commemorative item. Togo remained a national naval hero in prewar Japan, and the Battle of Tsushima continued to hold enormous symbolic importance within Japanese naval culture long after 1905. Weapons tell us how battles were fought. Objects like this show us how those battles were remembered. The surface shows age-related wear, oxidation, discoloration, scratches, and other signs of age. Please examine the photographs carefully for the exact condition. For collectors interested in Admiral Togo, Battleship Mikasa, the Battle of Tsushima, the Russo-Japanese War, and Imperial Japanese Navy history, this is a particularly evocative commemorative piece. Own a Piece of History. International Buyers – Please Note.