Original Japanese WWII Hand-Painted Silk Good Luck Flag with Lots of Extremely Faint Signatures - Cut From Original Length - 23 ½ x 30”

Original Item. Only One Available. This is an extremely worn and thin example of a Japanese Good Luck flag, with dozens of signatures and likely well-wishes. The flag was cut from its original length likely due to heavy damage along the edges. The top is cut off, but we can still tell that the largest text at the top read Prayers for Eternal Good Fortune in War.

The flag in its current state measures roughly 23 ½ x 30” and is missing the corner reinforcements entirely due to its shortening. The flag is in heavily flown and worn condition with heavy tearing across with the material being extremely thin, likely the thinnest we have seen. This example was likely a battlefield pickup and is very worn overall.

The flag is made of what appears to be silk or rayon cloth, an early form of synthetic cloth made from wood, with the red "sun" dyed piece sewn into the middle. The flag is in very rough and fragile condition and is the real deal. The writing is still mostly legible to an expert, but we can’t get much to translate from what’s present. This would make a fine display piece for a wall or glass table. These are getting harder and harder to find in any condition.

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.