WW2 Japanese Hand Made Flag with Kanji “SPIRIT OF JAPAN”, “BANZAI” & “OKINAWA” drawing of Shuri Castle Arch & Mt. Fuji

Here is a unicorn first for us.  This is a Japanese WW2 Kanji inscribed HAND PAINTED flag with five rare notions:

1. Mt Fuji drawn on it in color;
2. The Kanji for “BANZAI” inscribed,
3. The Kanji for “Sprit of Japan”  in the center of the sun;
4. the Kanji for  “GREAT OKINAWA” under
5. Shuri Castle Gate.

It is a SPECTACULAR flag with many, many, rare characteristics, each of which is seldom found  on any single flag. To have all five of them all on a single flag is a unicorn.

These carried-in-battle national flags are considered highly spiritual talismans. They were most often made by friends and family. These were given as gifts to departing soldiers and sailors as they left their family & friends to join the military.

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

They typically bore words of encouragement, calls for bravery, honor, loyalty etc. They were often signed so that the signatures radiated away from the sun just as the rays of the sun appear to radiated away on the rising sun flag.

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

This is a handmade flag. The sun is painted on the cotton. We seldom see this done.

 The characters 久長運武祈 across the top say “Prayer for Good Fortune in Battle.” This is a standard slogan found on most signed flags.

士山 FUJI Mount Fuji are the Kanji characters under the Mountain drawing. 

To the lower right of Mt. Fiji is written 富 which means wealth.

Under the Mt Fuji drawing are these Kanji characters 萬歲. These are separated by a few inches. Read together, these characters are literally BANZAI!! We have never seen this on any flag, ever!

大和魂 Yamato Spirit is written in the center of the flag. In any translation, 大和魂 Yamato Spirit is a very spiritual and nationalistic saying. It’s a term deeply rooted in Japanese history and culture, representing the indomitable spirit and pride of Japan. It is often associated with virtues like bravery, the Bushido code, resilience, and unwavering strength of the Japanese character. Yamoto was the Ancient Capital of Japan.  As such, Yamoto was long considered the birthplace of the very soul of Japan & the Japanese People. The fact it was inscribed quite literally in the center or “soul” of the flag on the sun from where life itself radiates,  rightly amplifies the importance of the meaning. We have not seen this on many flags but certainly NEVER in the center of the flag.  Very few flags have anything written on the sun.

Under the depiction of the gate to Shuri Castle is written 大沖縄 which means GREAT OKINAWA.  It is no accident that the arch is drawn above “Okinawa.”  Anyone living on Okinawa would immediately get the reference to the iconic landmark. Think of NYC & the Statue of Liberty, St Louis & the Arch; Seattle and the Space Needle.

It is possible the soldier or sailor who was given this flag was living on Okinawa when he entered military service and then was transferred to mainland Japan for training.  This would explain the Shuri Castle and Okinawa reference. The other possibility is that he was inducted on Okinawa to serve in the defense of Okinawa itself and never left. Tens of thousands of Japanese & Okinawans were inducted into a locally formed Island Defense unit to support the 32nd Army.

The rest of the Kanji are names of family and friends.

This flag measures 16×16 inches. The edges are unfinished. The body is cotton.