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Help Need help identifying this flag

Gjsanchez7

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I picked up this flag at an antique store years ago and I've always wondered if it was real. There are no leather tabs in the corners and all corners look to be torn or frayed like maybe it was tacked on a wall. The rising sun is not sewn on but dyed and you see some color bleed if you look closely. It doesn't shine under a UV light either. Please forgive me for any mistakes, I'm new to the forum
 
 

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Very interesting flag.
It's got several patriotic phrases on it, the most common one being 武運長久 (bu-un chōkyū) which is written vertically down the left side of the flag, and means "good luck in battle". Then, at the four corners of the red disc (well, if a disk had corners) there are the words 玉砕 and 安泰 (gyokusai and antai, respectively). These mean, basically, "give your life for your country", and, paradoxically, "come home safely". Then, down the right hand side of the red disc, again vertically, is written in large, sloppy characters "切肉断骨" (setsuniku dankotsu), which also means give up your life for your country (till your flesh is cut and your bones are broken). Across the top in thin, and slightly sloppy writing is a poem of sorts. Loosely translated it says

You were born,
Like a young cherry tree,
Cared for
And given water,

Now, in the far off south seas
It's time for the blossoms to flutter victoriously


Apparently written by 2nd Lieutenant of the Naval Technical Academy, Minoru Tateno.

But I can't find an addressee, which is strange. And there are some stray kanji on the flag, placed without context. At the bottom of the red disk is the name Suzume Akiko, which sounds like an anime character's name.

Hard to tell what it is: authentic WW2 relic, or clever forgery? In any event, it would seem to be from the war era. I am not convinced it is a genuine wartime flag, but if it was a souvenir made for a GI, its an interesting one.
 
Thank you for the reply. I want to know where you found out about the poems author Minoru Tateno, is his name listed on the flag anywhere?
 
Ok, thank you for all your help. Is there any way to authenticate this or any research I should try? I wish I had more of a story behind it than having just bought it.
 
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Konnichiwa Gjsanchez7-san!

I think this flag is not real maybe. The reason lies in three words, 'Gyokusai', 'Wakazakura', 'Chiru'. Three words suggests death and it's not good message to soldier.

'Setsuniku Dankotsu' is a Japanese idiom originally, 'Niku wo Kirasete Hone wo Tatsu'. 'Niku wo Kirasete' means 'Even if the enemy slash my body'. 'Hone wo Tatsu' means 'I will cut off the enemy's limbs'. It is said to be the samurai's mindset.

And 'Suzume Akiko' is 'Susume Akiko' correctly. 'Akiko' is a female name. 'Susume' means 'Go!'. Next row 'Iza Yuke' is a same meaning 'Go!'.

NANGI
 
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