This is a very rare antique Japanese military lacquer box. The lid is decorated with a nice golden makie pair of cranes, and on the front of that has two applied panels - one is the cruiser Asama's profile picture. The bottom panel is the commander of the training fleet, Admiral Nagano. Then on the bottom left are the two captains of the two ships, Asama's being captain Tokichi, and the other ship of the fleet, Iwate, was captain Kisumi. The panel also has the route the ships took - from Yokosuka first to Honolulu, then San Francisco, San Pedro (near Long Beach), then Panama, New Orleans, Havana, Norfolk, Annapolis, New York, and Boston. On the way back they stopped in Mexico before stopping again in Hawaii and back to Japan.

The inside of the lid says "Showa 2nd Year Warship Asama Long Distance Voyage Commemoration' and the sailor's name Hirano. This was probably a calligraphy box for a big inkstone.

Condition: There is some small spots of damage on the front in the lower panel with the travel route. There's also some small damage on the back of the box. Please see pictures.

Size: 9"x6"x1.5"