>>1116581That does sounds like NYK line. They had ships with black or greyish blue hulls, and are still a major shipper today. NYK is an abbreviation for Nippon Yusen Kaisha, which actually translates to Japan Mail Line. Their ships have black funnels with red and white stripes. Here's some sketches of the sort of ships that would have possibly been seen in LA in the 50s, 60s and 70s. If you ever visit Yokohama, Japan they actually have a very nice museum dedicated to the history of the shipping line with huge models of the ships, and even have one of the 1930's passenger ships preserved as a museum you can visit.
