Japanese Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

Presented is a patriotic silk floss and metallic thread embroidered souvenir, circa 1909. The banner has a slate blue silk field, with "E Pluribus Unum" embroidered in gold thread on a bannerette above an American eagle with anchor and panoply of American flags. This embroidered banner was most likely made to celebrate in Japan, to celebrate the visiting US Navy men of the Great White Fleet...

ELABORATE SAILOR’S SOUVENIR EMBROIDERY FROM THE ORIENT WITH A LARGE FEDERAL EAGLE, CROSSED FLAGS, CANNON AND ANCHOR, OBTAINED IN YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, DATED 1906: Between roughly 1885 and 1915, American sailors visiting the orient could obtain beautiful needlework embroideries on shore, with patriotic American themes. These extraordinary works of art were acquired as mementos of a long voyage, often with the hope that they might be presented as gifts for loved ones and friends. Using silk floss, elaborately embellished with both silver and gold metallic bullion thread, and combining various types of embroidery work and stitchery, artists working the piers in port towns would create these elaborate pictures, customizing them to the buyer's content. Executed on velvet, like this example, or sometimes on silk, the most common devices included eagles, flags, and shields, often with various maritime elements, frequently personalized with names or initials, locations, and dates. This particular example has all of the above. A spread-winged, war-like eagle is posed here upon clusters of arrows emerging from the apex of a federal shield, flanked on either side by trios of American national flags. Laurel leaves spring from the top of the shield, while a cannon barrel and an anchor extend from the base, with a stack of cannon balls to the left and a billowing streamer below. The familiar "E Pluribus Unum" motto appears on the streamer, separated by a single star. This is rather appropriate for the meaning of the phrase: "out of many, one." The initials of the sailor, "AP," appear in fanciful text at the top, in the valley between the eagle's wings. To the left and right of the flags are the date "April 24th 1906." and "Yokohama, Japan." It is of interest to note that the count of 45 stars on each flag in the foreground is correct for the period, as well as the count of 13 stars and 13 pales (vertical stripes) on the shield.* The attention to detail is relatively amazing, especially given the point of origin. It was not uncommon for American-made patriotic objects to lack such detail. Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House at the time that this textile was made. Utah became the 45th state in 1896. It had been attempting to gain statehood for many years, but remained a territory, primarily due to the fact that the Mormon Church and Utah authorities continued to be openly tolerant of polygamy. In 1890, Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff published a manifesto that denounced the contract of “any marriages forbidden by the law of the land”. This gave way to Utah’s 1896 acceptance. The 45 star flag was generally used from that year until 1907, when Oklahoma joined the Union. Due to the Spanish-American War (1898) and Roosevelt’s famous world tour of the “White Fleet” (1907-1909), this was an extremely patriotic period. When examining the level of craftsmanship, note the glass eye employed in the eagle, the fan-like sprays of feathers on the white portion of the wings, and the tassels carefully knotted from metallic bullion thread. Also note the treatment of the raised feathers on the neck, the scales on the talons, and the spiraling chain...

The large silkwork depicts an adaption of the Great Seal- An American Eagle grasping an American Flag which overlaps a large anchor. A band reading E PLURIBUS UNUM sits behind the anchor. The whole overlaid with a shield form Stars & Stripes, arrows and an olive branch. Below a large Dragon looks up menacingly. An empty life preserver sits between which is designed to hold a photograph.

Background:

Japanese silkwork pictures were made for the American market from about 1885 through 1910. During the Spanish American War, American ships were stationed in Nagasaki. These silks were also sold at the Japanese Pavilion at the St Louis World Fair in 1904. This silkwork with such a nautical theme depicted was almost certainly purchased by one of the many American sailors who passed through Japan.

From December 1907 to February 1909, 16 battleships and 14,000 men of the US Navy steamed around the world on a mission of "Gunboat Diplomacy." The ships, commonly known as the "Great White Fleet" because of their white-painted hulls, called in ports the world over, impressing foreign dignitaries with the appearance of great power.

The ships were stationed for a time in Nagasaki. As Japanese and other Eastern influences in art were very popular, many men purchased the vibrant silks for souvenirs and mementos. Some of the ones with the strongest colour were seemingly not displayed at all, as there are no photographs in them and the condition suggests that they never made it out of the seaman’s trunk...

WWII PERIOD (1941-45) JAPANESE NATIONAL FLAG, OF THE TYPE GIVEN TO JAPANESE SOLDIERS BY FAMILY MEMBERS, WITH WELL WISHES INKED IN THE WHITE FIELD, BROUGHT H...