What's new

Please Help To Read Characters On 1930s Japan Naval Belt Buckle

mds308

Kouhai
11 Nov 2020
44
21
18
Please help me read the characters on this 1930s Japanese Naval Belt Buckle. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly.
IMG_5741.JPG.fea0cae0a3f30892e2396bf82c211fc4.JPG
 
昭和八年 = 1933
The bottom is a city which at first I thought it was Yokohama 横浜市 but the middle character seems different.
Anyway the experts will help you later when they see this. Just hang on.
 
昭和八年特別大演習観艦式記念
Commemorative for the Naval Review in the 1933 Special Large Scale Naval Maneuvers

The city is indeed Yokohama. The middle kanji is 濱, i.e., the traditional form of 浜.
 
Thank you so much for all your help. I was hoping for the name of a ship but I'm guessing the profile is a stylized version of a Japanese War Ship.
 
I found some interesting information about this 1933 naval review. I believe the profile on the buckle was for the Battlecruiser Hiei. She was used as Emperor Hirohito's flagship during the Naval Review off Yokohama in late August 1933. This profile on the buckle appears to be the Hiei. Makes sense to me.
 
Found this badge on the Net from the 1933 review. Same image on the buckle. Hiei for sure. This was the pre WWII profile prior to its makeover.
japanese-navy-battleship-hiei_1_8969c0eb0875cb7f3b0cda86fbeaa98d(3).jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom