Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. When Japanese men left for their military service, community organizations such as the local branch of the Imperial Reservists Association (teikoku zaigo gunjinkai) and the Greater Japan National Defense Women’s Association (dai nippon kokubo fujinkai) organized various celebrations, culminating in send-off parades to wish the troops well as they marched off to the local railway stations or ports. These send-off ceremonies were called sokokai and the participants in parades carried banners with the names of the recruits on them. The Japanese term for banner is nobori, and the exact Japanese name for them depends on the slogan. Here we refer to them as a “shussei nobori” or “Off To War Banners”.

They came in a wide variety of sizes, including some that were huge, like this one, though most commonly they are around five or six feet in length (150-180cm). These banners were usually made of silk or an early silk-like synthetic like rayon, though cotton was also used.

This example is the longest we have offered, measuring approximately 122” long and 26 1/2” wide. The fabric is definitely rayon or some other early synthetic, and not silk. The characters have been hand painted, while the other designs look to have been printed, and have faded heavily. The banner is named “Elementary school” over Keijiro Sasa, with another long signature at the bottom left which appears to read “Direct Report from Adachi”, a great addition.

The banner came with its original shipping tube, but upon closer inspection the shipping tube itself is a field-made example made from bamboo! An outstanding detail that really puts this piece into period context. The shipping tube measures 14 ⅜” long with a roughly 2 ¼” base diameter. The side of the tube retains yellow paint with stamps and send home information:

FROM:    35070957
PFC RUSSELL GRAY
HDQS + BASE SV. SQ.
384 ASG
APO #72 ℅. P.M.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.

TO: 
MRS. SYNTHIA A. GRAY
22 ½ NORTH FIFTH ST.
MARTINS FERRY
OHIO

The lid is also bamboo and is in great shape. There is heavy cracking across the tube but this is really a tremendous and unique piece that will fit well into any WWII collection.

Ready to display!