Japanese flag with writting question

[RKarum]

I bought this Japanese flag along with some Nazi items over Labor Day weekend and posted photos on the Collectors Community Forum.

Fellow WA member ZACHB is concerned about the stroke pattern across the top of the flag being off and thought it best to be discussed on this forum.
I don't understand what is written on the flag but I do like the flag for what it is.

Please post your words of wisdom and concerns (if any) and maybe the translation of what it says, that would help me out too.

[RKarum]

all the items I bought on Labor Day weekend.

[Nick Komiya]

The stroke pattern is indeed wrong as this is the famous Tojo fake flag.

[zachb]

Here are some good threads that shed light on the so called "Tojo Falg." Unfortunately these are appearing more and more in the Japanese militaria market. I do not speak or write Japanese but if one studies Kanji for a little while, one can begin to recognize the distinctive radicals that make up the individual characters.

There appears to be variations in the way these characters can be drawn or written, but one can begin to discern there are certain rules,(as with all written language), that are followed even if the person writing the Kanji does it poorly or in a stylized way. These Tojo Flags seem to have common mistakes that one shouldn't find in Japanese Kanji written by a native Japanese. Further, some of these flags and other fake Japanese good luck flags have squiggles and made up "characters." Placement of the characters and some of the stamps also can give these away as forgeries. Look closely at the large slogan at the "top" of your flag and compare it to originals that contain this slogan and one can really begin to tell the difference.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...highlight=tojo

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=tojo+flag

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=tojo+flag

[MikeB]

Japanese flag....

There's another one currently being offered on Ebay. It has one bidder and is currently offered at $49.95. Not bad for a few minutes worth of work! MikeB

[RKarum]

Thanks guys for the input. I don't have a ton of money tied up in this fake and it will go back to the dealer from whom I bought it.

[RKarum]

I was wondering, could this flag be original and the writting added after the wars end as a souvenir? Even if this is the case, I have no intentions on keeping it now because if what it is and not what thought I was buying.

Thanks for all the help.

[zachb]

The material and construction of the flag don't seem right, but it's hard to tell. What is the diameter of the sun disc? Also the orientation of the disc on the flag seems off, i.e., it is not centered, or is it at least centered? Zach