NISSAN KISEN K.K. (1)
image by Phil Nelson, None
Sources disagree over whether the red bands end straight or forked beside the letter. Stewart and, less clearly, US Navy show forked ends, while Watt gives straight ones; their presence on the funnel is uncertain. Funnel and flag lettering also differ. Watt traces the depiction to a 1953 Japanese book copied through Styring, considers the funnel more accurate from photographs, and questions the flag’s different S. A 1960s monochrome advertisement has a conventional letter.
Brown shows unbroken bands with a squared black S over them. Watt identifies N111 as incorrect.
This funnel was adopted after the Second World War. Its two bands represent ni in kanji and katakana; S may stand for the second syllable san or for steamship.