Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Just purchased from a large military auction. This hand painted cloth flag is marked with quotes such as Long Lasting Luck, Fortunate Military Service, Prayer for good luck, etc. These stamps are only seen on a minority of these flags, and definitely add to the appeal.

As with most good luck flags, the top is marked with 久 長 運 武, which reads Bu un Chou kyu ("May your military fortunes be long lasting.").

It is also signed with the names of many friends and family, radiating out from the center, and in various different styles of writing.. The flag measures approximately 23 x 27½”, and is made of what appears to be made from light silk or possibly rayon, with the red "sun" dyed into the middle. It shows staining and overall age toning, and definitely doesn’t look like a flag that spent its life in a drawer. Overall the flag is lovely and is the real deal: a genuine USGI "bring back"! The flag retains its two corner reinforcements with string attached, but they are in rough shape. This flag would look best in a frame!

Ready to display!

The Good Luck Flag, known as hinomaru yosegaki (日の丸 寄せ書き) in the Japanese language, was a traditional gift for Japanese servicemen deployed during the military campaigns of the Empire of Japan, though most notably during World War II. The flag given to a soldier was a national flag signed by friends and family, often with short messages wishing the soldier victory, safety, and good luck.

The Japanese call their country's flag hinomaru, which translates literally to "sun-round", referencing the red circle on a white field. When the hinomaru was signed, the Japanese characters were usually written vertically, and radiated outward from the edge of the red circle. This practice is referenced in the second term, yosegaki, meaning "sideways-writing". The phrase hinomaru-yosegaki can be interpreted as "To write sideways around the red sun", describing the appearance of the signed flag. This particular example completely unique is written in old KANJI the writing are mainly Japanese names of this soldier's family and friends with quotes and phrases.