WW2 Japanese Flag up For review

[cerick1450]

Hello

Just picked this up.. In excellent condition with minor soiling and some paper loss on corners, otherwise near mint. How does it look? Period correct?
Thank you for the help, in advance....




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[cerick1450]

One more

[Paul G]

Looks like a period correct flag to me. I have not found a post war flag with these EXACT construction details. They may exist, I just haven't seen one, and I have handled hundreds of flags.

PG-

[cerick1450]

Thank you. I for got to mention that it is about 27"x38"..

[cerick1450]

by the way. Is this material silk?
Thank you

[Paul G]

by the way. Is this material silk?
Thank you

It is possibly silk or an artificial silk / rayon. Definitely not cotton.

PG-

[MikeB]

Japanese National Flag

The corner tabs and tie strings look good to me. As was said, the material is probably either silk or rayon. You would have to perform the "burn test" in order to make a determination (I wouldn't recommend it). Rayon may at times appear "bright white", even after 70+ years, while silk will almost always become age-toned. The red sun appears to be screen or block pressed as is/was common. Normally the fly and hoist side edges are folded over and extra stitching is added in order to provide strength to the side of the flag that will either be blowing in the wind (damage from wind whipping), or be suspended, and stressed from a pole, rifle, etc. In 9 out of 10 cases these are the only edges to receive added stitching. I have seen flags that do have stitching around 3 or all 4 edges, however, this is quite uncommon. From one of your photos, it looks as though there might be stitching across more than 2 edges. Is that correct? Japanese national flags continue to be found as dead stock (although this has obviously become less common), and continue to be plentiful on the market. Whether a flag is pre-, wartime, or of post-war manufacture is very difficult to determine. Probably one of the best ways to "know" is to pick the flag up along with other attributed items that have not become separated, etc.

MikeB

[cerick1450]

Thank you for the help. I bought the flag from a friend that purchased it from the family of a veteran years ago. He did not have any more information. I will see what I can find. Also the hoist end and free end are both stitched. The sides are not.
How does rayon thread burn different from a silk thread?
Thanks

[MikeB]

Japanese Flag

Silk is made from the cases of silkworm moths. When you burn it, it smells like burned hair and turns to a powdery ash. Artificial silk (rayon primarily), clumps into a fibrous heated ball. It may continue to burn, even after the flame has been removed, and will smell badly as well. In addition, you should be careful as it can also drip when burned and cause injury if it lands on the skin. Hope this helps.

MikeB

[cerick1450]

Thank you. I burned a small sample of thread, and I believe it is rayon.