1943 Japanese 2nd Port Department Boat Operations Authorization Flag

Approximately 17 inches by 24 inches. The flag is multi piece construction, with a cotton section bearing a black wool fly end. Two corners have cord ties. The black fly end shows some damage. The flag bears the written annotations of “From Showa 18 [1943], April 1” and “Until Showa 19 [1944], March 31”, as well as “Port Department”, with the flag bearing the seal of the “2nd Port Authority”. The “2nd Port Department” was a part of the “Maizuru Naval District”, which included the port of Maizuru itself. Since the flag is dated with a specified finite period of one year,it is likely that the flag was issued by the port authority to a launch or some other vessel to indicate that the boat was authorized to operate within Maizuru Harbor during the time period indicated on the flag.