Large Boxed Kanji Scroll Written by Japanese Imperial Navy Admiral of the Fleet Togo Heihachiro

The long scroll is approximately 18 inches wide by 74 inches long. It is contained within its wooden storage case. On the scroll is handwritten kanji which reads 'The rise and fall of the Imperial nation depends on this battle', as well as 'Heichirō ['s] writing'. On the lid of the wooden case is written 'Admiral of the Fleet Togo's writing'.Tōgō Heihachirō (27 January 1848 – 30 May 1934), served as a 'Gensui' or Admiral of the Fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he successfully confined the Russian Pacific naval forces to Port Arthur before winning a decisive victory over a relieving fleet at Tsushima in May 1905. Western journalists called Tōgō 'the Nelson of the East'. He remains deeply revered as a national hero in Japan, with shrines and streets named in his honor.On this scroll Togo wrote 'The rise and fall of the Imperial nation depends on this battle'. This was Togo's famous quote to his fleet when he ran up the 'Z' flag before the battle of Tsushima Straits.The Battle of Tsushima was considered a daring naval victory pitting a small but rapidly militarizing emerging Asian nation against a major European adversary. Russia was at the time the world's third-largest naval power. While the Japanese fleet at Tsushima lost only three torpedo boats under Tōgō's command, of the 36 Russian warships that went into action, 22 were sunk (including seven battleships), six were captured, six were interned in neutral ports and only three escaped to the safety of Vladivostok. At the time of the battle, both fleets sighted each other, ready to engage. At around 13:55, Tōgō ordered the hoisting of the 'Z flag', and made his predetermined announcement to the entire fleet: 'The Empire's fate depends on the result of this battle, let every man do his utmost duty'.