Congratulations flag.

[grimnar]

Afternoon gents,
My newest flag for your perusal. A very simple, yet quite poignant. I have not owned a flag with stamps on it before so that is another nice feature. I also like the fact that it has the kanji 祝 featuring so prominently on the flag.

Can anyone help me with the other characters? What are peoples thoughts on the layout of the stamps and names? in the lower right corner?

Thanks in advance gentlemen.

[Nick Komiya]

It says the usual 祝出征 (Celebrating going to war, Enlistment), but laid out to have 祝 in the center.

It is named to a Fumio Kumagawa or Kumakawa and was presented by organizations (Hygiene, Fire prevention and Youth Group) of some place called Takahama, as well as the Patriotic Women's Association in Suma. With two place names shown (Takahama and Suma), normally one should be able to pin point where the flag came from, but although there is a Suma in the city of Kobe, there are no hits for any Takahama, past or present. Hama means beach or shore, as in Yokohama, so one can assume the place was at the sea. Suma in Kobe does have a beach, so that is a possibility, but no record of a Takahama (literally Hawk Beach)there, so no way to be sure. I took the liberty of uploading two of your photos directly, as I do not like commenting on threads that are later devoid of any photos, rendering my effort useless for later reference.

[JCB]

thanks

Nick, You and others who provide translation and insight on these things we all thank you! I too provide knowledge and photographs free of charge to fellow collectors with an interest in Japanese militaria especially (in my case) Inert Ordnance and Japanese headgear.

Thank you!
JIm
JapaneseOrdnance(at)Yahoo.com

[Geoff Ward]

Thank you Nick. I was just thinking the other night how unfortunate it was that so many of the older posts no longer have the original images. Well Done!

Geoff

[Nick Komiya]

Thank you Jim for the kind words. At the same time, I apologize to others whom I choose not to assist. I can't possibly handle all the requests, so I have to draw a line. Cultural insight and in-depth research are what I strive to offer, and I decline to do mere translations and read names. Particularly, names are a total waste of time, as it is only the Kanji that counts when you want to research someone. How we read them are only educated guesses, not fact.

[grimnar]

My apologies Nick for not replying sooner. Many Thanks for your help and thank you for uploading the photo's on your account. There is nothing more frustrating then looking at the older posts and find the pictures have gone.

[Nick Komiya]

Then why not become an association member yourself and spare others their frustrations?

[grimnar]

How does one become an association member?

[Nick Komiya]

See here http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=193366
Photo upload related instructions are all here http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...isplay.php?f=8