Lot 948

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Description:

JAPANESE WAR CRIMINALS SIGNED KERCHIEF
Excessively rare grouping of Imperial Japanese military signatures, collected on a commemorative handkerchief depicting a montage of American victory in the Pacific during World War II. The eight signatures are all in black pen, are all written both in English and with traditional Japanese kanji, and include: HIDEKI TOJO, KENJI DIOHARA, AKIRA MUTO, SADAO ARAKI, JIRO MINAMI, YOSHIJIRO UMEZU, MAMORU SHIGEMITSU, and TEIICHI SUZUKI. These eight were part of the 28 defendants tried for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the conclusion of the war. The autographs were collected on the kerchief by military policeman and Army sergeant Alexander Chiemingo, who served at Sugamo Prison and personally guarded the men in question.
Of the eight signers, three were sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and were executed at Sugamo Prison. TOJO, who ended the war as Japan's Prime Minister, was convicted of 7 out of the 10 possible counts, including waging unprovoked war against the Western allies, China, and ordering inhuman treatment of POWs. DOIHARA, the general in charge of operations in China and member of the Supreme War Council, was found guilty for orchestrating the China invasion and voting for the Pearl Harbor attack. MUTO, an Army general, was considered personally responsible for many orders given during the Rape of Nanking and of slaughter, torture and other atrocities against the Filipino civilian population, prisoners of war and civilian internees during the Battle of Manila.
ARAKI, MINAMI, SUZUKI, and UMEZU were all given life sentences for the part in war crimes. Araki had served as War Minister and helped author the invasion of Manchuria. Minami was War Minister during the Manchuria campaign and was found guilty of waging unprovoked war against China, but not against the Western allies. Umezu, a general who had personally signed the Japanese surrender on the USS MISSOURI, was found guilty of waging war against the allies. Umezu died in prison and Araki and Minami were paroled for health reasons. Suzuki, who guided Japan's wartime economy, was eventually pardoned. SHIGEMITSU served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the war era. He, along with Umezu, had personally signed the surrender document on the USS Missouri. Shigemitsu was sentenced to 7 years prison for his role in Unit 731, Japan's top secret chemical and biological weapons research group, and conducted illegal experiments on captured human subjects throughout the war.The 17" x 17" handkerchief shows a screen printing of a Selma Times-Journal front page bearing the headline: "Unconditional Surrender by Japs Completed at 20-Minute Ceremony". Below the headline is a topographical map of the Japanese islands with a giant American flag planted in Tokyo and a further title: "The End of the Long Road Back" (interestingly, no markings signify the bombings at Hiroshima or Nagasaki). Included with the lot is an original copy of the International Military Tribunal, Far East Court Room Seating Diagram, containing names of all judges and defendants. Chiemingo circled the names of defendants from whom he secured photographs; presumably, these were the men he guarded as well. Additionally included is a T.L.S., 1p., 4to., Sugamo Prison, December 10, 1947, a letter of commendation for Sergeant Chiemingo.

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May 14, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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