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Definitely Korean. You need to turn it counter-clockwise to set it properly. Note the "bars" are in the order of 3,4, on the left and 5,& 6 on the right. The red/blue should be red on top. The names are Korean, and the larger 5 "hanja" (Korean for "kanji") read "Kankoku Ji...... Gun" Korean Self .... Military". The kanji/hanja that I cannot read looks like "negai" which in Japanese means "please do me a favor". In this context, maybe something like "self-favoring".Originally posted by DAKcollector1
My New Nelson Kanji Dictionary is .... at the office!
Cheers,
Guy Power -
So, when the I-Ching trigrams are in correct order, the yin-yang should be split horizontally. The Korean flag was adopted in 1950 .... so it is possible that this was a Japanese Flag painted over.Originally posted by GHP
Cheers,
GuyComment
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WW2 flag with Korean overture and kanji
Very nice flag and different! I have only seen one other done like this. All of the "writing" was done in Japanese, but the red sun had been altered to the "yin" and "yang" symbol. As a side note, a number of flags in my collection have a combination of mostly Japanese kanji and some Korean mixed in with it. These are not ordinary for sure, but the style is understandable when considering the relationship between the two country's during the War. MikeLast edited by MikeB; 10-09-2005, 06:48 AM.Comment
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Guy,Originally posted by GHP
The kanji in question looks like it may be for tano(moshii) as in reliable, trustworthy, hopeful, etc.
EricComment
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Mike, "technically", all the writing was done in Chinese characters -- which Koreans also used at that time. In Korean, "chinese characters" is called "Hanja" ("kanji" in Japanese). I see many Korean names such as Lee/Li/Ri and Kim.Originally posted by MikeB
Cheers,
GuyComment
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It's Korean... It say, Korean Volunteer Military on the right.
Attach the national flag of KoreaComment
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Hi Eric,Originally posted by Eric Doody
I just found my older Nelson's and double-checked that "ji-negau" kanji/hanja. According to Nelson, there is no compound "Ji-Gan". Ji means "self/oneself", gan/negau (kanji #255) has two readings and meanings. As "gan" it means "prayer, petition, vow; when read as "negau" the same kanji means desire, wish, hope implore, desire, wish, request.
Tanomoshii is kanji # 5129 -- the left-half of that kanji is different from what is on the flag; the right-half is the same.
Another poster, Kennethc, says the hanja mean "volunteer" -- which makes sense if you cobble "self" and "request" into a meaning. I just checked the ShinEiWa Jiten and found "volunteer" -- Shigan. The "gan" is the same on the flag. So I suppose "JiGan" is a Korean/Chinese version of volunteer. (Shigan in Nelson's old Dictionary is #1064, compound #19).
This has indeed been a fun bit of research.
Cheers,
GuyComment
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Wow, Gary how do you know so much about Korea? I am really impressed.
For myself, my father is Korean and as I haven't really spent much time there as I'd like, I cant read all the characters, but I can tell you one thing.
On the Center left of the flag, between the 2 bar/stripe designs are 2 characters that read "Ni Hon" which of course means Japan. So I am convinced that this flag is from WW2 and predates the Korean flag.
And yes Christopher, this design was around before the Korean war. So it's safe to say its a Korean volunteers' flag. About 20% or so of the Japanese Army was made up of Koreans. There were some famous Admirals and Generals in the Japanese Imperial Army who were Korean. I cannot remember there names now, but my father told me. My father was born in 1935 and he has a lot of things to say from that time as well as from the Korean War. (During the Korean war he saw a firefight between US Sabres and N Korean Flak right in his neighbourhood. During the last days of WW2 in August of 1945, he had to clear out camouflage from Japanese fighter planes hidden around Seoul. In school as a 8 year old in 1943 or so his school teacher incited him and his classmates to grow up to become Kamikaze pilots.)
Back to the flag, there are several Korean names as well. Starting with Park and Kim.
I will ask someone for more help with the characters.
That is a really nice flag. If I had money I would start collecting such items.
PS. My parent's have a black and white photo of my grandfather and a cousin standing underneath a Swastika, Japanese meatball and an Italian Facist flag. Its from some rally or something from the 30's which was held in Seoul. I don't have it handy of course, but will try to post it at some future date.Comment
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