Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a rare World War II Japanese pilot’s bail-out survival meatball float flag. The flag is silk to assist in the flotation of the flag on the water for a Japanese pilot who crashed in the sea. The flag is in wonderful condition and is still attached to its original telescoping bamboo pole. This poles can be collapsed to a compact size of only 10 inches and extended to a length of 36 inches which was important for allowing the pilot to signal other aircraft and ships. These have become increasingly difficult to find and the first one we have had in several years. Flag: approximately 36-1/2” by 27”.

Also included is a vintage wood box stuffed with genuine Wartime Japanese Cigarette packs (3) and two boxes of match sets. The cigarettes have never been opened and still have their original colorful labeling intact.

Both the flag and the smoking items were brought home by a USMC soldier after WW2 as a souvenir of his time in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. 

The Good Luck Flag, known as hinomaru yosegaki 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.