Question Good Luck Flag with Multiple Shrine Stamps

[Kobedice]

I am hoping a member of this forum can provide some general perspectives about this silk flag that my wife and I recently acquired. Specifically, we are curious to know three things:

1) why there are relatively few written words/characters;
2) why the writing that is present runs straight across the top of the flag (rather than radiating out from the red sun); and
3) what the significance is of many shrine stamps (we count eight or perhaps nine stamps, some so faint that we cannot be sure of the exact number) that run down the right side of flag.

The flag is approximately 26 inches across x 36 inches long. The two upper corners are reinforced by leather (now quite withered).

Any insights would be appreciated!

Thank you! Kobedice

 

[Majestic]

Hello Kobedice,
Your flag is sideways. The writing on your flag runs vertically down the left side.
国光宣揚 is a patriotic slogan. Means basically "Rise Up Japan" or "Lets Raise Up Japan". Next to that is another patriotic slogan.
滅私奉公 means basically give up your selfish desires and devote yourself to your country.
Underneath those slogans it says 為山本元次. It means "To Mr. Yamamoto Genji" (other possible readings for the given).
Next to that is 陸軍中将 "Lieutenant General-" but I can't read his name clearly.

My guess is that the Lt. General was a mentor to Mr. Yamamoto, and gave the flag upon Mr. Yamamoto's shipping off to war. Maybe it was given as a private kind of gift, and therefore doesn't have the signatures of other friends or family.

Shrine stamps are common on flags. If the giver or the recipient lived in a town with a notable shrine, the giver would have asked the shrine to affix the stamps as a sort of blessing or gesture of good luck. But these kinds of stamps can be easily faked, so they don't really add or subtract too much from the flag's value. (Not for me anyway. Your mileage may vary).

 

[Kobedice]

Dear Majestic:

Thank you for the prompt response and the wealth of information about this flag. I'm embarrassed that I showed the flag in an improper orientation (I should have realized that the leather corners belonged to the side of the flag, not on the top). BTW I like your profile picture. Are you a Steve McQueen fan generally, or perhaps a fan of "The Great Escape" specifically?

You might be interested in knowing how my wife and I came to acquire this flag. We arrived at a local estate sale toward the end of the first day, a sale that, according to the organizers, had drawn a crowd stretching around the residential block before the doors opened that morning. We saw no other items at the sale related to WWII or Japan, and the flag was thoughtlessly draped over a sofa in the living room, looking very out of place (and lonely). Why so many people had passed it by is a true mystery, but we are happy to be the beneficiaries. A Good Luck flag indeed!

Thank you again for the information about the flag Very kind of you.

Kobedice

 

[Majestic]

I'm a fan of the Great Escape (written by James Clavell, who was also author of Shōgun , which for many in my generation was the "entry drug" for Japan). I don't remember seeing any of his other films, except for maybe The Magnificent Seven.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

My favorite movie will always be Bullitt. Watching the car chase on the big screen made me come up off my seat when he hit the bumps , LOL.