Doing research on Yosegaki flags

[Nick Komiya]

Last year, I mentioned I would be posting some of my items. That was before my memory stick containing all the research write-ups I had done dropped out of my pocket somewhere in Japan after the Grand Prix last October. It took a lot of resolve to redo everything after the remorse and grief over the loss, but I finally got to it during the Christmas holidays and I think I ended up with something that would be of interest to collectors that like researching their items.
Since starting to help translate flags on this forum, I noticed that some flags made for very exciting research. I had never taken interest in flags before, but I got hooked on the detective work and how much it can reveal. Collectors like to say, “If it just could talk”, and I realized that some of these flags will talk a great deal, if you pay attention to the clues.

I mean the flags that have all the writings on them. These flags are called Yosegaki flags. Yosegaki means “gathered writing” and when it’s done on the Japanese national flag, it’s called Hinomaru (sun orb flag) Yosegaki. Some people refer to them as prayer flags, but that is not what these are. In the Himalayas, they do indeed have Buddhist prayer flags with mantras written on them and every time the flags flutter they are supposed to send prayers to heaven (automation started earlier than generally thought?). I have seen a Japanese flag covered in Buddhist writing, which would fall into the prayer flag category, but that was an exception. Yosegaki flags are simply “Best Wishes” flags. Some people may translate the common slogan as “Praying for Everlasting Fortune in Battle”, but that is because the Japanese language does not really distinguish between “wishing” and “praying” and often uses the same word for both. Yosegaki is a universal custom; when a work colleague quits or gets transferred and the workplace presents him/her with a card carrying messages wishing the person the best in the new job, etc, that is a Yosegaki; or would some insist on calling that a “Prayer card”?

I will be posting 10 flags and let them tell their stories. I will start with the common silent ones and progress gradually into more talkative examples until we end up with one that just won’t stop, befitting the bunch of politicians they are. They are presented in that order for you to see what clues get the story going. I suppose for most collectors these flags are just a collection of names and that is statistically true. A lot of them were like perfunctory Christmas cards, just signatures, but some will get a lot more personal, hold revealing messages or signatures with titles that establish the timeframe and sometimes the circumstances.

I will post in the following order.

1.Grouping of textbook flag and Senninbari that looks great, but otherwise
says little
2.Grouping of flag, Senninbari and award documents that says a lot between
the lines, but is tight-lipped about military secrets.
3.Grouping of flag and headband that points to the soldier being a tanker
4.Flag from work colleagues from the manufacturer of the Type 99 rifle, Howa
5.Flag for a university student going to war signed by a man training for Tokko
6.Flag with Army Paratrooper reference
7.A flag presented to a unit upon deployment
8.A farewell and best wishes flag signed by a Lt. General and colonels
9.A grouping of a campaign flag, going to war sash and photos that tells the
tale of two brothers.
10.A “who’s who” Yosegaki flag signed by politicians, secret police and military
celebrities.

If you read them all, you realize that together they almost tell you the whole story of the war from a very personal viewpoint. I hope you’ll enjoy following my exhaustive detective work.
Unfortunately, this level of research is only possible if you have advanced command of Japanese reading and writing, but at least it should give you an idea what to look for in a flag that can lead to a lot more than just signatures of people that mean nothing to you.

1.Mitsuo Maruyama Flag and Tiger Senninbari

[Nick Komiya]

I normally do not bother with flags that do not have a story to reveal, but when it comes with such a handsome senninnbari, one cannot be too choosey. After all, this is a text book example of a going-to-war Yosegaki flag that follows the Army’s security regulations that forbid recruits from showing up for service carrying yosegaki flags carrying the designation of the unit he was about to join (This is stipulated in every Military pay book from WW2). Neither are there any signatures with titles that allow dating of the flag. All the writing in this flag, however, shows flair and class, indicating a community of people with a high level of education. It is rare to have so many people exhibiting such skill in calligraphy to make it such an artistically pleasing flag. A fantastic looking grouping, but research-wise a complete dead end!

On the right is “Praying for Ever-lasting Fortune in Battle” and then “Presented to Mitsuo Maruyama”. There is one other Maruyama among the signatures; perhaps family.
The senninbari comes with a nice tiger motif done by hand, also with the same slogan as the flag

[Nick Komiya]

The tiger

[Nick Komiya]

2. Grouping for Private 2nd Class Taketsugu Suzuki

This grouping consists of two flags, a Senninbari and two documents for a soldier from Kyoto that served in China.
One Yosegaki flag is from his friends. It says Taketsugu Suzuki in large characters on the left, and the “Wishing for Everlasting Fortune in Battle” slogan on the top. It is signed by 11 of his friends, but signatures from his family are missing.
That is because the family wanted their flag to be personal, which is the second flag. This one has “Everlasting Fortune in Battle” on the left. At 8 o’clock is, “For the sake of the nation, take good care of your health, Mother.” Then at 10 o’clock, “Till the last man, Father.”. At 6 o’clock, “Advance to the end”. At 4 o’clock, “Give it your best, Suzuki! Yasushi Shiomoto”. At 3 o’clock, “Brother, bring back the Green Dragon Crescent Blade (Legendary Chinese blade), will you? Kimiko(younger sister)”. One o’clock is “One should be Brave and Daring. Tokujiro Shiomoto ”. And at 12 o’clock is “Banzai (live forever or hurray), Yoshiko”. Yoshiko must be another sister and the Shiomoto’s must be his relative on the mother’s side. The 6 o’clock slogan is also in the hand of Tokujiro.
This is the most personal flag I have seen so far; it is easy to imagine his mother struggling to suppress her true feelings that he should come back alive, as that would have been unpatriotic, so she took the politically correct path of telling him not to let ill health stand in the way of duty. The same with his sister, by saying she wants him to bring back the sword, she is implying his safe return as well as submission of the enemy. Of course, his Dad had to say something more manly. What is OK to say is determined by compliance to the soldier’s bible, which would be the “Gunjin Chokuyu (Imperial rescript to soldiers & sailors)” and the “Senjin-kun (Instructions on conduct in battle)”, both part of the soldier’s pay book.
As soldiers were supposed to know these by heart, these were familiar documents to all and therefore served as the source of most slogans on Yosegaki flags. Though, politically correct, the family had taken the least aggressive concepts, thereby avoiding the glorification of death, so they had very good reason to keep these messages separate.
The Senninbari is a printed commercial version you could buy in a Kyoto department store. It is printed with the “Everlasting Fortune in Battle” slogan.
The two documents are both dated April 29th, 1940. The larger one is the document for the China Incident campaign medal addressed to Army Infantry Private 2nd Class Taketsugu Suzuki. The medal was instituted on July 27th, 1939, but a survey of 10 or so documents revealed them all to have the same date as this one. As they say, the nicer things come in small packages; it’s the smaller document that would have brought great joy to Taketsugu. It reads “Taketsugu Suzuki, for his dedicated service in the China Incident, is bestowed a reward of 30 yen. April 29th, 1940. Ministry of the Army.”. This was a big bonus, as a private 2nd class would be making in those days, 5.5 to 6 yen a month, so he got 5 months of pay as bonus.
Unfortunately, the question of which unit Suzuki served in cannot be determined for lack of definitive clues. By the end of the war, there were 9 Infantry Regiments based in Kyoto, but only 4 of those were existing on the date of the document for the medal; they were the 9th, 51st, 60th and 109th regiments.

[Nick Komiya]

The personal family flag

[Nick Komiya]

The Sennin Bari

[Nick Komiya]

The China Incident Medal Citation

[Nick Komiya]

The Monetary Reward Citation

[Nick Komiya]

3. Yosegaki Flag for a Tanker

As is written in the WW2 pay book carried by all Japanese soldiers, when called up, it was forbidden to report to duty carrying a Yosegaki flag mentioning the military unit to which one was assigned. For this reason, flags rarely reveal any information even on the branch of service.

[Nick Komiya]

This flag found in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, however, has an unmistakable clue that the man was joining a Tank unit. At the top is a rhyme contributed by a friend saying “Going to War in a Pea, Imminent Victory in a Pea, in a Pea Tank”. Pea Tank (Mame Sensha) refers to a Tankette, a midget tank in the Japanese Army, specifically Types 94 and 97.
The flag was accompanied by a headband (hachimaki) with the words “Divine Might” and a stamp from a Sansha Shrine in the center. This is a shrine located in Osaka and narrows the tank unit ID to one in the Osaka/Hyogo area. The 2nd Tank Division was based in Osaka composed of tank regiments 6, 7, 10 and 11. Another possibility being the 19th Tank regiment established newly in Osaka in 1942, which remained in Japan as defense against the allied landing. As the owner of the flag evidently survived the war, he most likely belonged to this regiment. The 2nd Tank Division was destroyed in the Philippines
The flag is of cotton and the red meatball is a separately sewn on piece. It does not have the name of the soldier to whom this flag was presented. Slogans that appear are “Ever-lasting Fortune in Battle” (appearing 3 times), “Absolute Loyalty and Service to the Country” (character for loyalty mis-spelled), “Integrity”, “7 Lives in Service for the Country” (Even if killed, spring back to life 7 times until one’s duty is done), “Imminent Victory”.
Most likely he had 5 sisters, as 5 female first names surround the bottom part of the meatball (Aiko, Mariko, Toshiko, Yoshiko and Kimiko) done in the same hand, suggesting one sister signing on behalf of the others.
The tanker must have come from a simple neighborhood, judging from the simple handwriting that does not try to affect sophistication, the sisters represented by first names only and the minor spelling mistake with the word Loyalty.

[Nick Komiya]

4. Yosegaki Flag from Howa Heavy Industries, manufacturer of the Type 99 rifle

Masao Moriwaki was a worker at Howa Heavy Industries engaged in the production of war plane components and weapons including the Type 99 rifle. As the situation became desperate for the Army, even those working in the weapons industry, who used to be exempt from service had to be called up for military duty. Instead, those jobs would be taken up by high school students who were mobilized as factory workers from March 1943. Thus, Moriwaki’s call-up must have taken place after that.
He and his colleagues belonged to an association in the workplace called the 7th Aviation Association, which probably was the association of workers in something like the 7th Aviation Components Dept. In the name of Howa Heavy Industries, his colleagues in the association presented him with this Yosegaki flag.

[Nick Komiya]

They used a unique silk flag with water marked floral patterns, consecrated at the Tsushima Shrine with a stamp that read “Tsushima Shrine, Praying for Ever-lasting Fortune in Battle” Vertically written on the right was “Presented to Masao Moriwaki”, “Howa Heavy Industries”, “7th Aviation Association”, and on the top was the large slogan “Praying for Ever-lasting Fortune in Battle”

Nowadays Howa Machinery Ltd. is Japan’s prime producer of assault rifles for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, producing the 5.56mm Type 89 rifle as well as the 7.62mm type 64 rifle. The company shares the same origins as the Toyota Motor Corporation, now the world’s largest automobile manufacturer. Starting out in 1907 as Toyoda’s Loom Works Ltd to market the looms, it further spawned the Showa Heavy Industries in 1936, which specialized in the manufacture of weapons and production machinery. Then in September of 1941, the two companies merged into one, taking the first character of Toyo (also read Ho) from Toyoda and Wa from Showa to become Howa Heavy Industries. At that time, plane components and steel were added to its area of business. At the end of the war in October 1945, the name was again changed to Howa Machinery and they dropped the weapons and plane components from their business. However, these were once again revived as part of their business in May of 1953. They are located in Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture.

The Tsushima Shrine whose stamp appears on the flag was founded in 540 and located in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture.

[Nick Komiya]

5. Yosegaki Flag for a Student of Waseda University with a Tokkotai candidate’s signature

When I obtained this flag from Hiroshima, it was primarily out of sentimentality and curiosity. This was presented to a student at Waseda University (Tokyo), who had to leave his studies midway to go to war. The current Prime Minister, Fukuda is a Waseda graduate and it is also my Alma Mata.
During my Waseda days, a movie was shot on the university baseball field called “Cheer song for Heroes, the Last So-Kei Match (1979)”. It was about a student of Waseda, a catcher on the baseball team, who had to leave for war and died as a Tokko pilot. An amendment to the draft law forced players of both teams to drop their studies and go to war; thus it was the last war-time match between Waseda and Keio (So-Kei-Sen) Universities, two permanent rivals, both having been started by founding fathers of the Meiji Restoration. The matches between these two universities, be it baseball, rugby or regatta have always been major sport events, so the last ball game became legend and a symbol of the tragedy of war for the entire population. Naturally, I saw the movie and it was this story that crossed my mind when I saw this flag. Also, seeing a lot of sophisticated writing on the flag, I wanted to understand what was on the minds of my university seniors, who experienced the war. It was only after I had the flag in my hand that I discovered it represented a surprising parallel with the story of the movie. One of the signatures was from a Waseda student on his way to become a Tokko pilot.

[Nick Komiya]

Until 2nd October of 1943, students pursuing higher education were allowed to defer their military service until graduation or maximum of 26 years of age. This waiver was suspended and students in social sciences 20 years of age and older were required to go through their draft checkups between October 25th and November 5th in their home towns. The earlier mentioned last ball game between Waseda and Keio took place on 16th of October, and on December 1st, 1943 about 6000 students reported for military service. Following soon after their departure, the draft age was reduced to 19 on the 24th of December, and further to 17 on October 18th,1944 sending more students off to war.
Finally, when the war ended, the long awaited So-Kei baseball match was revived on 18th November, 1945, but they had to call upon some graduates to replace players who never returned.

The students in the field of natural sciences were regarded as critical for the war effort as in weapons development, so they enjoyed draft deferment until graduation, when they were inducted into military research institutes.
The university students, thus drafted were primarily to serve one of the following four functions.
1. As fighter pilots and Tokko-tai
2. As military educational instructors
3. As junior commanders
4. As officers in the accounts dept.

University students had the advantage of being eligible to apply for the officer candidate path, so long as they had passed military drill tests in school. Taking the Army and the Waseda draftees of December 1st, 1943 as an example, if the individual volunteered for the course upon joining and passed the written exam, he would become an officer candidate 3 months later in March, 1944, and after his studies, at the end of 1944, he would make probationary officer and progress to Lieutenant in Reserve. At Waseda, in order to give its students the chance to pursue this path, the university offered military drill courses between 11th October and 21st November for the December 1st group of 1943.

Reading the flag became a big challenge, because of the sophistication of the form of writing employed as well as the content. There are many poems and most are written in the fluid Shosho form typical for poems in which individual strokes are no longer distinguishable; so without having studied this form of writing it’s tough to be sure what it says. Also, the content represents deep knowledge of Japanese and Chinese Classics, so it is easy to miss the double meaning behind words and the true context. With some help from a calligraphy instructor, the following is my best shot.

-Prominently at the right is “Dedicated to Toshi Hirabayashi” signed Mitsutaka Terada
-At 2 o’clock are 3 messages “Men of this sacred land have always admired decisiveness”, “Wishing you great achievements (literally a good fight), “Virtue of Japanese womanhood”
- At 4 o’clock are also 3 messages. “To you, who sets forth to dedicate his precious life, may this Yosegaki convey our heartfelt thoughts”, “Mountain cherry (ephemeral life of a soldier), the Maiden Cherry blooms in thought of you and to accompany you through the garden (let the sincere thoughts of a maiden accompany you)”. From a law student, “Young cherry destined to fade like the morning dew in sacred battle, may your carcass build a bridge (may your death serve a purpose)”
- At 12 o’clock, “Over mountains and across the seas, may the soul of the warrior guide you, in pursuit of the call of the Emperor”
- At 5 o’clock, again from a law student, “Decisiveness”
- At 6 o’clock, “Utmost Sincerity”
-At 11:30, from a literature major, “Total dedication”
- At 6:30, “Truth”, “Loyalty and filial duty”
-At 7 o’clock, “One mounted warrior doing the deeds of a thousand” (From the Chinese classics), ” May God appear to ensure victory”
- At 8 o’clock, from a student of commerce, “Observe with quiet patience, but then act with swift decisiveness”
- At 9 o’clock, “Futile is the life of a man, without tales of valor to be passed down for generations”
- At 10 o’clock, “Determined Assault”
-At 11 o’clock, “On this spring day of blooming cherries, vow I a soul resolved never to return (alive). Dear (elder) brother in the spirit world, together may we serve as the true protectors of the nation. Oh, do I yearn to soar through the heavens and shout to the world. Accompany me to the source of the Galaxy, watch me end life as gracefully as the blossoms in the height of spring as the number one Probationary Flight Officer under the sun (in Japan)”

Ironically, the last poem steals the show. Though this youth’s family name is illegible, he clearly signs with his title, Probationary Flight Officer. In Japanese, it is Tokubetsu Soujyu Minarai Shikan, often abbreviated as “Tokusou”. The literal translation of this title is Special Piloting Apprentice Officer, the Army’s version of Tokko-tai, which was a volunteering option established in July of 1943. Recruiting was done in 4 waves. The first group joined on October 1, 1943 (approx.2000 volunteers), the second wave was December 1st, 1943 (approx. 3000 joined), the third group in April 1944, and the 4th on November 1st 1944. Altogether, about 7000 students became pilots in this way. Though, not all became Tokko pilots, the majority did, and perished as members of “Shinbu” Squadrons during the battle for Okinawa.

This system allowed university students to enter the Army with the title of Sergeant Major, and after the 3-month grueling training, made them reserve officers. An account of one such probationary flight officer reveals the nature of the training.
“It first starts with take-off and landing practice. Time in the plane for each of us was limited to around 30 minutes a day, but the quick learners would be doing solo flights within a week and most within two weeks on the outside. If you were not solo by the third week, they failed you without question. Also, instructors would often accompany you on flights to monitor your progress, and if they notice you making mistakes like confusing the gas pedal and the brakes (comparing to car driving) they were strict in failing you and forbidding you to fly. Though I don’t know how it was written, failing to make pilot was called Ketchin and was regarded by us as the ultimate shame. Those who got Ketchined were pooled into what was called the 9th block unit and were assigned ground duty”
Noboru Take****a, another Waseda graduate who became Prime Minister (1987-89) after the war also was a Probationary Flight Officer. He joined in November of 1944 and was one of the 25 trainees to be assigned to the 244th Squadron at the Kumagaya Flight School in Nagano prefecture. However, they ended the war in China before seeing any action.

Taking all of the above together, it is almost certain that this flag was presented in 1944 to Hirabayashi, who received his call-up at the age of 19 to join his unit in Hiroshima. The probationary flight officer must have been training at one of the army flight schools located near Tokyo, such as the one in Okegawa of Saitama Prefecture.

Note
Hirabayashi’s first name can be read several ways: Toshi, Satoshi, Akira, Susumu, Tsutomu There is no way to tell from the information available.

Close up of the writing from the Probationary Flight officer

[Nick Komiya]

6. Yosegaki Flag with Army Paratrooper Reference

This flag is signed by an army general and by numerous officers from lieutenants to colonels. On top of that it has a reference to army paratroops.
First, let’s take a look at what the flag says.

Translation of messages on flag (names without titles are omitted)
The right-most vertical writing is “Wishing for Every-lasting Fortune in Battle” with the second line saying “For Takebayashi-kun, Army General Major, Shio Teramoto”. ”Kun” is a way to address someone of equal or lower status to oneself, so you automatically know that Takebayashi (Family name) had lower status or seniority than Teramoto.

12 o’clock: “Sincerity”, Colonel Hayakawa
Four messages to the right of the above message; from left to right, as follows;
-“Wishing for Every-lasting Fortune in Battle”, Reverend Kuboyama
-“Fulfillment of mission”, Colonel Tejima
-“Go forth with the blade of righteousness”, Lieutenant Matsubara
-“Wish you a good fight (success)”
3 o’clock: “Destroy the enemy upon sight”
4 o’clock: “Relentlessly attack” Sergeant Major, ????, Lt. Colonel, Kubo, Capt. Kawano,
2nd Lt. Kasahara
5 o’clock: Major Moritama
5:30 : “Do your best”
6 o’clock: 2nd Lt. Kurobe, and to his right 2nd Lt. Yotsuya
6:30 : “Wishing for Every-lasting Fortune in Battle”
7 o’clock: “In the Spirit of the Divine Warriors of the Sky”
7:30 : Lt. Ikeda
Bold vertical message on the left side of meatball: “Go to face the national crisis with a pure heart”, Capt. Yamada.

To the left: “Imminent Victory”, and further left at 10 o’clock “Death & Life are one and the same (Buddhist concept of the eternal life-death cycle)“ 2nd Lt. Matsumura, 2nd Lt. Nikaido
9 o’clock: “Attack”
11 o’clock: “Hold your name (honor) dear”
10:30: “Victory is a Must” and below that “True loyalty and service to the nation”

In the bottom left corner, 4 officer’s signatures; Lt. Ishida, 2nd Lt. Kajima and 2 other 2nd Lieutenants (illegible)