DescriptionThis is an original 1931 Imperial Japanese Navy commemorative photo album documenting the battleship Haruna during Emperor Hirohito’s Imperial visit to Kyushu.The cover commemorates:“The 1931 Imperial Visit to Kyushu for the Special Army Maneuvers – Imperial Ship Haruna.”During this journey, Haruna was selected as the Imperial ship carrying Emperor Hirohito.In simple terms, an Imperial ship was a warship specially designated to carry the Emperor.This makes the album much more than a general photographic history of Haruna. It records a specific occasion when one of Japan’s best-known battleships was given a very different role: transporting the Emperor during an official Imperial journey.The opening pages feature a large photograph of Haruna, together with portraits of senior officers including Captain Minoru Sonoda, commanding officer of Haruna at the time.The photographs then follow various aspects of the journey and its preparations.They include sailors handling large quantities of luggage aboard ship, military and civilian gatherings, official events, and scenes from locations visited during the Imperial journey, including Kumamoto.These images offer an unusual view behind the ceremony, showing not only the Emperor’s journey but also the sailors and preparations required to transform a battleship into an Imperial ship.Haruna was a Kongo-class battleship with a remarkably long career. About a decade after the events recorded here, she would serve extensively during the Pacific War and participate in major operations including the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.But this album preserves a very different Haruna.This is Haruna in 1931—ten years before the Pacific War—serving not in battle, but as the ship chosen to carry the Emperor of Japan.The publication information is especially interesting:Printed: December 25, 1931
Compiler: Warship Haruna
Not for SaleThis was therefore not simply a commercially published book about the Japanese Navy. It was a non-commercial commemorative album compiled under the name of Haruna herself, preserving a specific event in the ship’s history.The album is approximately 95 years old and shows age-related wear, staining, discoloration and wear to the binding and covers. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.A battleship remembered not for a battle, but for the day it carried an Emperor.Own a Piece of History.Shipping
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Provided by HARU
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