Help translating a Japanese WW2 era flag

henken · 20 Jun 2023

I inherited a Japanese flag from WW2 from a family member. It came with a note from an individual who attempted to translate it previously. I'm hoping someone here can confirm or correct this translation. From left to right: NIPPON | FLAG | MANILLA | JAN 1942

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Majestic · 20 Jun 2023

The translations are correct, but in between Manila and January is the word "Bansai" (should be Banzai).
But the writing is abominable. It was written by someone who is not a native speaker/writer of Japanese (or Chinese). The penmanship is horrible, and some of the letters are wrong (as in Banzai above, but also 1942, and January, and Nihon).

henken · 21 Jun 2023

Majestic said:
The translations are correct, but in between Manila and January is the word "Bansai" (should be Banzai).
But the writing is abominable. It was written by someone who is not a native speaker/writer of Japanese (or Chinese). The penmanship is horrible, and some of the letters are wrong (as in Banzai above, but also 1942, and January, and Nihon).

While it's a bummer to learn this isn't a real Japanese flag, I appreciate the insightful reply. Apparently these imitation flags were quite common in the day.

Dentanmono · 21 Jun 2023

Seems weird that a U.S. soldier would want to commemorate the Japanese occupation of Manila which is the reference to Jan 1942. If you want a wild unprovable theory, it might be a pro-Japanese Filipino created flag? Obviously impossible to prove but people like far fetched stories if it helps them claw back the possibility of items being "authentic" haha

Help translating a Japanese WW2 era flag

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