Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is one of the most tremendous Japanese flags we have offered, one that was used by Kamikaze Squadron Leader Saburo Hamada, Captain of the Navy Yujiro Shoji, 7th Squadron, 735 Naval Air Corps. This air corps was located in Wonsan, North Korea, and was where the Kamikaze units were trained. The squadron leader used this flag to inscribe the names of his Kamikaze pilot squad members who died in action during Kamikaze missions. About 3,800 kamikaze pilots died during the war in attacks that killed more than 7,000 Allied naval personnel, sank several dozen warships, and damaged scores more.

The large-style text in the top right of the flag is a two-character word often used to sink enemy ships, and translates to Sinking a ship instantly.

The bottom right section of the flag translates to 20th Term, 2nd Flight, 3rd Term, 36th Flight Training Reconnaissance Flight Specialization, Naval Flight Sergeant Taizo Okuzaki, March 1st, 1945 in Wonsan, North Korea.

The top left of the flag, which is the area that shows the most damage, are some word of affirmation, Young Cherry Blossoms die for your country, Naval Flight Master Sergeant Michihito Odamura, and in this case, Young Cherry Blossoms refer to young airmen. As a Kamikaze, it was honorable and right to die for your country in this manner.  It was claimed by the Japanese forces at the time that there were many volunteers for the suicidal forces. Captain Motoharu Okamura commented that "there were so many volunteers for suicide missions that he referred to them as a swarm of bees", explaining: "Bees die after they have stung."

However, an evidence-based study of 2,000 pilots' uncensored letters revealed that the pilots candidly expressed myriad emotions in private. Typically, they declared their determination to die to protect the homeland and thanked their school teachers, parents, siblings, and friends for their selfless devotion. Although most pilots were unmarried (the average age was 19), some young fathers left loving instructions for their young wives and children to live well, and others expressed memories of unrequited love or the sorrow of dying young.

Some of the names of Kamikaze pilots inscribed include Mitsuo Aine, Keiji Tsuchida, Toshio Date, Junichi Kumakura, Heihachiro Ogura, Sonoichi Samori, Kazuo Kanno, Kazami Zero, Hiroshi Aoyama, Tokuji Taguchi, Kohei Matsubara, Kyuhachiro Tanaka, Toshihiro Mihara, Matsuo Yamazaki, and Masaru Kanayama. From our understanding, these would be the names of the Kamikaze pilots who fulfilled their mission. These names make for a tremendous research project.

The flag measures 27½ x 38½” and retains both of its leather reinforcement tabs as well as their tie-strings. The flag has some serious damage on the end, with some heavy material loss, and the pieces that remain are extremely fragile. There are already some very small bits that came off. There are also some small holes across the flag but these don’t show any serious threat. This flag would be best framed professionally with museum-grade glass.

Flags of this rarity don’t come to the market often, and if you were going to have one signed Japanese flag in your collection, you'll want it to be this one. A chilling record of one of the most brutal and macabre ways to give your life for your country during the Second World War. This is the first Kamikaze flag we have ever offered, and we don’t expect to find another anytime soon. Comes ready for further research and display.