“The Missing Mum Mystery”: Solved

Abstract

For decades, collectors and museum curators have pondered the meaning behind the defacing or removal of Imperial chrysanthemum seals on Japanese rifles following the surrender of Japan in 1945. Several myths and explanations for the removal are commonplace and have been perpetuated since the end of the Second World War, but definitive evidence explaining exactly why the chrysanthemum was removed has not been presented in the English language until recently. The truth of the matter lies with the disarmament of Japan, Japanese ordnance regulations, and perceived requirement of removal by American servicemembers. All Japanese rifles since the 1880s were marked with the chrysanthemum, and it is common to find examples of various models of rifle with the chrysanthemum intact, whilst other examples of the same model have had the seal removed or mutilated. This article presents evidence which proves that the Japanese did indeed order the removal of the Imperial chrysanthemum and that this had been an established practice decades before the Second World War.