This dagger was surrendered to the then LT CDR Davis-Goff on 20 August 1945, at the Yokosuka Naval Base, by Commander Yuso Tanno of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Five days earlier, Imperial Japan had surrendered to the Allies signaling the end of the Second World War. The formal surrender was signed on USS Missouri on 2nd September.
Donated to the Navy Museum by Commodore Davis-Goff in 1984, the dagger has a plated blade with a white sharkskin wire bound grip and a black scabbard with gilded metal fittings decorated with chrysanthemums. Naval dirks were worn by commissioned officers in the Imperial Japanese Navy until the end of the Second World War. They were thought to symbolise authority, social status and virility.
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New Zealanders in Japan – Artefact Unpacked
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Metal Ashtray – Artefact Unpacked
Royal Navy sailor AB Philips created this ashtray while serving in the Baltic during the First World War.
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New Collection Items – Autumn 2024
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New Collection Items – Winter 2023
View a selection of new items added to the Collection during Winter 2023.
New Collection Items – Autumn 2023
View a selection of new items added to the Collection.
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Dear Midge
Letters sent by a sailor to his daughter during WW2.