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Lot 889
Japanese Flags With Signatures of Tojo and 23 Other Class A War Crimes Prisoners. Two silk Japanese flags, each 11 x 14", and each with twelve signatures of high-ranking military officers and government officials who were held in Sugamo Prison, Tokyo from 1945-1948 while on trial for conspiracy to wage agressive war, conventional war crimes, and crimes against humanity. All signatures are in in English and Japanese and signed in blue ink.
In November 1947, while in their cell blocks, the prisoners signed the two flags (one was too small to hold all of the signatures) for young American private Samuel J. Million, who had been too young to fight in the war but was inducted into the Army on Oct. 2, 1946 and assigned to Headquarters Detachment, 8th Army, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur Headquarters. Mr. Million was assigned to Sugamo Prison as a guard to top-level (Class A) Japanese war criminals.
One flag has the following signatures:
At top center is HIDEKI TOJO, General; Prime Minister and Army Minister, 1941-44; he was Prime Minister of Japan when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place; sentenced to hang.
Down the left side are:
KOICHI KIDO, Bureaucrat; Education Minister, 1937; Welfare Minister, 1938; Home Minister, 1939; Privy Seal, 1940-45; sentenced to life imprisonment;
HEITARO KIMURA, Minister; Vice War Minister, 1941-44; sentenced to hang;
NAOKI HOSHINO, Bureaucrat; President, Planning Board, 2nd Konoe cabinet; Chief Secretary and Minister without Portfolio, Tojo cabinet; sentenced to life imprisonment;
TEIICHI SUZUKI, General; President, Cabinet Planning Board and Minister without Portfolio, 1941-43; sentenced to life imprisonment;
AKIRA MUTO, General; Chief, Military Affairs Bureau War Ministry, 1939-42; field commands in Dutch East Indies and Phillippines, 1943-45; sentenced to hang;
KUNIAKI KOISO, General; Chief of Staff, Kwantung Army, 1932-34; Overseas Minister, 1939-40; Prime Minister, 1944-45; sentenced to life imprisonment.
Down the right side are:
SADAO ARAKI, General; Army Minister, 1931-34; Education Minister; sentenced to life imprisonment;
OKINORI KAYA, Bureaucrat; Education Minister, 1937; Welfare Minister, 1938; Home Minister, 1939; Privy Seal, 1940-45; sentenced to life imprisonment;
SHIGETARO SHIMADA, Admiral; Navy Minister, 1941-44; sentenced to life imprisonment;
SHIGENORI TOGO, Career diplomat; Ambassador to Germany, 1937; Ambassador to U.S.S.R., 1938; Foreign Minister, 1941-42, 1945; sentenced to 20 years imprisonment;
YOSHIJIRO UMEZU, General; Commander, Kwantung Army and Ambassador to Manchukuo, 1939-44; he signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, on board the USS Missouri, September 2, 1945; he was sentenced to life imprisonment but died from rectal cancer in prison in 1949.
The second flag has the following signatures:
Down the left side:
TAKASUMI OKA, Admiral; Chief, General and Military Affairs Bureau, Navy Ministry, 1940-44; sentenced to life imprisonment;
JIRO MINAMI, General; War Minister, 1931; Commander-in-Chief, Kwantung Army, 1934-36; Governor-General, Korea, 1936-42; sentenced to life imprisonment;
KENRYO SATO, General; Chief, Military Affairs Bureau, War Ministry, 1942-44; sentenced to life imprisonment;
KENCHI DOIHARA, General; Commander-in-Chief, Japanese 5th Army in Manchuria, 1930-40; sentenced to hang;
MAMORU SHIGEMITSU, Career Diplomat; Foreign Minister, 1943-45; he signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945; sentenced to seven years imprisonment;
KIICHIRO HIRANUMA, Baron; Rightist Leader, Founder of Kokuhonsha; President, Privy Council, 1936-39; Prime Minister, 1939; sentenced to life imprisonment.
Down the right side:
SEISHIRO ITAGAKI, General; Chief of Staff, Kwantung Army, 1936-37; War Minister, 1938-39; sentenced to hang;
SHUNROKU HATA, General; Commander-in-Chief, Expeditionary Force in Central China, 1940-44; sentenced to life imprisonment;
HIROSHI OSHIMA, Army Officer; Military Attaché, Berlin, 1936; Ambassador to Germany, 1938-39, 1941-45; sentenced to life imprisonment;
KOKI HIROTA, Career Diplomat; Foreign Minister, 1933-36; Prime Minister, 1936-37; sentenced to hang;
KINGORO HASHIMOTO, Colonel; attached to Army General Staff, 1933; propagandist; sentenced to life imprisonment;
IWANE MATSUI, General, "Commander-in-Chief, Japanese Forces in Central China, 1937-38; sentenced to hang.
The two flags have all of the signatures which are on the larger flag in the previous lot except for Toshio Shiratori, Career Diplomat and Ambassador to Italy, 1939, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. The flags have folds and some wrinkling; Sato's signature is a little light, but both flags are in fine condition.
These flags are accompanied by a sworn, notarized document by Samuel J. Million. Mr. Million was interviewed by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Oral History Program on October 28, 1009 about his experiences at Sugamo Prison. The interview, # VR2-A-L 2009-031.01, can be found on the internet and listened to or the transcript of the interview can be read.
Also accompanied by a list of the Class A war prisoners who were tried and sentenced, including a description of the crimes for which they were tried (taken from Sugamo Prison, Tokyo by John L. Ginn, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC and London, 1992, pp 17-33).None of these Class A war criminals who was sentenced to life actually served a life sentence unless he died of natural causes within a few years. All were paroled and pardoned by 1958.
Estimated Value $15,000-UP.
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| Realized $12,000 |
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