Original Item: Only One Set Available. Brought back from the Pacific Theater of WWII, this is a very interesting Japanese Army WWII Flag set! It consists of both the Legendary "Rising Sun" flag, with the sun correctly in the center for an Army flag, and a National "Meatball" flag. Both flags are of what looks to be rayon construction, with the designs dyed onto them. They come with what we believe is a brass Pole Topper, and are contained in a very interesting case.
It looks like this set of flags was meant to be flown on special days or holidays, and the lid to the case has a long extension with various dates written on it, including 二 月 十 一 日 紀 元 節, which reads Ni-Gatsu Juu-Ichi-Nichi (2nd Month 11th Day) Kigen-Setsu. February 11 was known as Kigen-setsu (紀元節), a holiday commemorating the day on which—according to the Nihon Shoki—Emperor Jimmu is said to have acceded the throne in 660 BCE.
When one date passes, the lid is rotated, so that the window in the case displays the next date. We have only been able to translate a few of these, and leave it as a great translation project. These are WWII era holidays, many of which are no longer celebrated, or have new names. The case itself measures 14 1/4" x 3 3/4", and has the bottom held on by tape.
The rising sun flag measures 27"H x 31"W, and has the usual small corner reinforcements with hanging ties. The national flag is just a bit bigger, at 27"H x 35"W, and has similar hanging ties. Both show the expected age toning, but are still solid and in great shape.
The pole topper has some markings around the bottom, and looks to be intended to install in a hollow pole, with tension springs to hold it in place. There are also the remnants of what look to be instructions under the topper at the bottom of the case, but they are in pieces and cannot be read at all.
A very interesting flag set, full of research potential!
The Rising Sun Flag (旭日旗 Kyokujitsu-ki) design was originally used by feudal warlords in Japan during the Edo period. On May 15, 1870, as a policy of the Meiji government, it was adopted as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army, and on October 7, 1889, it was adopted as the naval ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy (Naval flags have the sun off center to the left). With the sun in the center, this is a flag of the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army).
The Japanese call their country's flag Hinomaru (日の丸), which translates literally to "circle of the sun", referencing the red circle on a white field. It embodies the country's sobriquet: Land of the Rising Sun.
