This is an antique Japanese military sake cup, decorated with the profile of the battleship Kongo sailing at full speed. The words on the back of the cup are "Warship Kongo" "Showa 17th Year Great East Asian War Commemoration". This is an extremely rare named capital ship, well decorated cup from the midst of WW2 after Pearl Harbor. Kongo would've been assigned to the SE Asia theater in a very busy year, fighting in the Dutch East Indies in the beginning of the year during the Japanese invasion, participating in Midway as the landing force, then fought near Guadacanal. My guess would be this cup was for a sailor after his return from the Dutch East Indies in a triumph, before disaster struck in Midway.

Condition: There's some chipping of the paint around the edge of the cup

Size: 4.25" across