WW2 Japanese Silk Banzai Flag from Viscount Tachibana in 1942

This is a very, very, special flag presented by 蛋位勳等子爵立花種忠 Viscount Tanetada Tachibana in 1942.

Viscount Tanetada Tachibana (1880-1963) was a Japanese nobleman and peer, specifically a Viscount in the Japanese peerage. He held the position of Parliamentary Councilor for the Ministry of Communications.

This flag is dated in Japanese 皇紀二千六百二年十一月二十七日. This translates to the Emperor’s Year 2602, 11th Month, 27th Day. On the Gregorian calendar this corresponds to November 27, 1942. It is seldom that we come across dated flags like this one.

This flag came to us with other Japanese militaria with no translation or capture history to give away its’ lofty status.

These carried-in-battle national flags are considered very spiritual. They were most often made by friends and family for soldiers and sailors going off to war.

The Japanese population supported their soldiers & sailors by making thousand stitch belts, going off to war banners, comfort bags loaded with goodies and collecting signatures on flags to be given to servicemen.

The flag is silk and measures 41 x 27 inches.

These were carried folded up and tucked at the top  of the helmet, worn around the neck, carried in the tunic or haversack and eventually tied to the rifle in a final Banzai charge to protect the bearer.

The Viscount operated in very high places; so high, in fact, that his son married Princess Mineko Kitashirakawa (美年子女王, Mineko Joō, 1910–1970) on January 21, 1933.