Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Just purchased from a Pacific War collection at an estate sale! This hand painted silk flag is marked with battle quotes such as "Banzai", and "Good Luck". As with most good luck flags, the top is marked with 久 長 運 武, which reads Bu un Chou kyu ("May your military fortunes be long lasting.") across the top. The flag is signed with the names of many friends and family.

There is also two very nice "temple stamps" on the lower right. These stamps only appear on a minority of good luck flags, making this a very nice example. The flag measures approximately 29" x 43", and is made of fine silk cloth, with the red "sun" dyed into the middle. Flag is in very good condition and is the real deal: a genuine USGI "bring back"!

The flag itself has some stains and holes, as well as overall age toning. The delicate silk fabric unfortunately over time has become brittle where the paint was applied, probably from a reaction to one of the components. The smaller kanji are fine, but some of the larger ones have developed tears and holes. The leather corner reinforcements are in good shape, with their original hanging ties.

Ready to display!

The Good Luck Flag, known as hinomaru yosegaki (日の丸 寄せ書き) in the Japanese language, was a traditional gift for Japanese servicemen deployed during the military campaigns of the Empire of Japan, though most notably during World War II. The flag given to a soldier was a national flag signed by friends and family, often with short messages wishing the soldier victory, safety, and good luck.

The Japanese call their country's flag hinomaru, which translates literally to "sun-round", referencing the red circle on a white field. When the hinomaru was signed, the Japanese characters were usually written vertically, and radiated outward from the edge of the red circle. This practice is referenced in the second term, yosegaki, meaning "sideways-writing". The phrase hinomaru-yosegaki can be interpreted as "To write sideways around the red sun", describing the appearance of the signed flag. This particular example completely unique is written in old KANJI the writing are mainly Japanese names of this soldier's family and friends with quotes and phrases.