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Japanese Flag Translation

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eleejr

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All -

I am involved with a small historical society located just outside Boston, MA and a young student interning with us has asked for assistance in translating this flag. I would be very grateful for whatever information you are able to provide.

Many thanks in advance.

Elisha Lee
Dover Historical Society


 
Your flag is oriented vertically in the picture, when it should be oriented horizontally.
The red stamp, large letters and the threads go on the right side. The large letters read (from top to bottom when oriented correctly) 祈武運長久 (pray for everlasting luck in battle).
The red stamp contains the name of a Shintō shrine located around the Ōsaka area, Kōzugū.

高津宮 - Wikipedia

ja.wikipedia.org
There are two other characters on that red stamp that I am unable to read. Stay tuned...

On the extreme far right (again, when oriented correctly) is the name of what looks to be some god/deity associated with Okinawan Shintō, Kimitezuri (君手摩), but again there are two other characters I can't make out. I don't know why the flag would have an Okinawan phrase as well as the name of a shrine in Ōsaka on it. (I could be wrong about the Okinawan god, so stay tuned on this as well...).

The rest are names of people who signed the flag.
 
Thank you so much! I shall indeed stay tuned. Is there any identifiable reference to the original owner?
 
Could be the name on the lower right corner, but that bit is folded so it is slightly hard to see (it is the four kanji after the "Kimitezuri" reference. It is possible that this Okinawan phrase and the name after it are somehow connected to the owner. Perhaps he was someone whose family was from Okinawa, but transferred to Ōsaka. Unfortunately there is no other text on the flag that might help. Nothing obvious anyway.
The name looks like Yamada Kiyosaku or something like that. As I said, its hard to see because of the fold. It might not be anything related to the owner, and could just be another person signing the flag, but its orientation is different from the others, and the Okinawan phrase (if indeed that is what it is) seem intended to draw attention to that one bit of writing.
 
My thanks again - I'll see if I can get a better photo of the name.
 
 

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Yamada Shinsaku, is the name in the right corner.
The phrase above it is (or seems to be) 君手摩 屛息 but I have no idea what it means. 屛息 means to quiet something down, keep something still. I have no idea what it means in this context. I don't think Yamada Shinsaku is the receiver/owner of the flag. But considering the name's position on the flag, he might be someone who organized the presentation of the flag. Maybe a boss or a teacher or some other kind of mentor.
 
I think the phrase above Yamada Shinsaku is a kind of four-character idiom 羣魔屛息. 羣 is a variant of 群, and the second kanji is 魔, not 摩, so this phrase means something like "(even) crowds of monsters are silenced by fear." This is a dedication to the recipient of the flag, thus, Yamada Shinsaku would be one of the presenters.
 
Totally missed that - first time to see 羣. I was convinced it was 君手 and that is what led me to 摩 instead of 魔 (despite the difference being very obvious).
 
My thanks to all of you for the information you have provided. Am I correct in my understanding that the name of the recipient is not on the flag?
 
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