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Description
Own a Piece of History.
This is an original Imperial Japanese Navy shipboard newspaper or onboard magazine related to the famous battleship Mutsu.
The publication is dated from:
January 20, 1938 – October 31, 1938 (Showa 13)
making it a fascinating historical artifact from the period when Japan was becoming increasingly involved in the Second Sino-Japanese War.
At the time, Mutsu and her sister ship Nagato were considered national symbols of Imperial Japan.
Armed with massive 16-inch (41cm) guns, they were among the legendary “Big Seven” battleships of the world and represented the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
What makes this item especially interesting is that it reveals the human and cultural side of life aboard a Japanese battleship.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had a unique onboard publishing culture.
Crew members produced ship newspapers, magazines, illustrations, essays, humor pages, and entertainment articles during long deployments and daily life at sea.
Compared to the Imperial Japanese Army, the Navy was known for having a stronger intellectual and literary atmosphere, and publications like this often reflect that culture.
Because of this, the item feels less like formal military paperwork and more like:
“a youth magazine created by sailors inside a giant battleship.”
Original shipboard newspapers were usually distributed only within the ship itself and in very limited numbers.
Surviving examples are extremely rare today.
Materials related to Mutsu are especially desirable because the battleship tragically exploded and sank in 1943 under mysterious circumstances in the Seto Inland Sea, resulting in the loss of much of the ship and many related artifacts.
This is not only a military collectible, but also a rare cultural artifact that preserves the daily life, emotions, and atmosphere aboard one of Japan’s most iconic battleships.
Shipping
Fedex or Japan post
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