Nick Komiya...
I have two flags with Tokko-tai references. One has a fairly prominent slogan that says, "Shatter the enemy!" This makes reference to a sudden strike or blow against the enemy. This is followed by a "final poem," or a portion of a War-time song, this particular flag says, "Thinking of the Emperor, I will never hold my life dear, As the life of a cherry blossom is very short, So I am going to die gracefully. Those petals scattering are my life itself..." It has the hanko from a Ise-Hachimangu Shrine. This particular Shinto shrine found interest among early and 20th century Samurai because it exults one of the deities of War.
The "cherry blossom" reference was pretty common on various types of flags. Some of its references are more pointed, leaving no doubt as to the mission of the former owner. In others there might be numerous ways to interpret that reference, depending on the rest of the content (context) of the flag. In many instances, there is just no way to determine with finality the actual history of the flag. I would agree with what Nick and Edokko have said about this. I have another flag that was presented to an army captain by the name of Nishiyama Isami. There is a poem that says, "As a cherry blossom is the best for a flowering tree, so the samurai is the best for man." This idiomatic Japanese expression does not convey the feeling of a final poem, but rather speaks to the feeling of the Japanese soldier/Samurai/bushi connection that was stoked by the militarists leading up to the Great East Asia War. It is not a tokko-tai flag. It does have beautiful artwork on it, however, and contains an army helmet, Samurai sword, and falling cherry blossoms. Mike
I have two flags with Tokko-tai references. One has a fairly prominent slogan that says, "Shatter the enemy!" This makes reference to a sudden strike or blow against the enemy. This is followed by a "final poem," or a portion of a War-time song, this particular flag says, "Thinking of the Emperor, I will never hold my life dear, As the life of a cherry blossom is very short, So I am going to die gracefully. Those petals scattering are my life itself..." It has the hanko from a Ise-Hachimangu Shrine. This particular Shinto shrine found interest among early and 20th century Samurai because it exults one of the deities of War.
The "cherry blossom" reference was pretty common on various types of flags. Some of its references are more pointed, leaving no doubt as to the mission of the former owner. In others there might be numerous ways to interpret that reference, depending on the rest of the content (context) of the flag. In many instances, there is just no way to determine with finality the actual history of the flag. I would agree with what Nick and Edokko have said about this. I have another flag that was presented to an army captain by the name of Nishiyama Isami. There is a poem that says, "As a cherry blossom is the best for a flowering tree, so the samurai is the best for man." This idiomatic Japanese expression does not convey the feeling of a final poem, but rather speaks to the feeling of the Japanese soldier/Samurai/bushi connection that was stoked by the militarists leading up to the Great East Asia War. It is not a tokko-tai flag. It does have beautiful artwork on it, however, and contains an army helmet, Samurai sword, and falling cherry blossoms. Mike
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