Noritake Souvenir 1939 Porcelain Ashtray. Maiden Voyage of MS Sakito Maru January 1939. Art Deco design blue & white porcelain ashtray - just over 13 cm in diameter at the base. The NS Sakito Maru's life was short. Launched in 1939 as a passenger / frieght ship. She was requisitioned by the Japanese Army as a troop carrier and was sunk on the 1st March 1944 east of Taiwan with the loss of 2,500 Japanese servicemen and crew