Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a great small sized Japanese national flag which appears to be the size of a “Rifle” flag, which Japanese soldiers would attach to the front of their Arisaka rifles. Some soldiers used larger Good Luck flags, but this example appears to have been meant for a rifle. It measures 14 x 16½” and is dyed, with remnants of the original corner reinforcements.

The left side of the flag reads 1945, and the right side reads Empire of Japan. The top writing appears to read “Patriarchal Luck Prayer”, so this may have been a gift from the soldier’s father.

This example would look great in a frame. Comes ready for further research and 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.