Prayer Flag

[Vix Steel]

Got this the other day. Ive read these are called Prayer flags, kinda like a good luck flag that family and friends would sign?

Looks like the makers stamp in red ink in the corner.

Looks like it might have got wet as the red color has bled a little.

Anyone able to read or translate anything?

Came from a US GI.

[gunto]

This looks like a Tojo flag ,,a fake made by US troops.

[J7W22007]

Another ”Tojo Flag".

These were wartime/intimidate post-war made for the U.S. G.I.s (Souvenir).

Here is the similar thread: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=tojo+flag

Regards,
Taka

[GHP]

I agree, a "Tojo Flag" .... but:

Lots of correct Japanese kanji. Solely for your collecting information:


The three major writings are bottom, right to left:

東条 英機Tojo Hideki [???]
[probably not these kanji, but maybe a written variation?]
Taka, am I reading "Tojo's" name correctly? It does NOT look like to me, but I'm nowhere close to your level of reading. Definitely the "To" [East] is correct; however, the 2nd kanji [putative "jo'] seems to have an additional "hen" [radical] to the left side. The "Hide" could be correctly done [?], and I'm really not certain of the "ki" because it's wrinkled up and compacted.


忠勇Chuu Yuu
[loyalty & Bravery. Also a man's given name as Tadao; however, since there is no family name here, I take it as a slogan.]

君忠報国
Dunno how this is correctly pronounced; I'm guessing Kimi Chuu HouKoku: loyalty 忠 to the Emperor 君 & patriotism 報国

To me, these particular kanji look native-written. The slimmer script -- chicken scratches -- are made by a different hand (or different brush technique) -- maybe by a non-Japanese? Just my guesses.

=============
The top header:

久長運武 Buun Choukyuu
Perpetual Fortunes of war
But it is read from right to left. Nowadays most horizontal Japanese is written left to right; today it would be written 武運長久

This writing looks to be in a third person's hand -- and much lighter than the bottom large kanji. It is correctly written in proper stroke-order.


Bottom left corner:
昭和十九年

Showa 19th year [1944]
There are some strokes missing from kanji, but I don't know if that is because of "cursive" penmanship ... of if it was done by a skilled Seabee.

=========

All in all, I agree it is a so-called "Seabee Flag" -- probably a GI had a Japanese worker do the writing. [Or, an enterprising Japanese found a way to make some easy money from GIs.....?]

Again, I'm neither a collector nor expert; just basing observations on what I've learned 200 years ago in grad school. [Okay, and maybe a little practical application of what I "learned."]

--Guy

[gunto]

There is one ebay right now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-WWI...item1c2fe2c8f6