The yosegaki hinomaru that wasn't...

[John C]

The yosegaki hinomaru that wasn’t… sorry for putting this here. Seemed the most logical of the forums.  

 

This short monograph is about a flag I bought, or more appropriately the box it came in. I’m sharing this as a small example of rudimentary translation, historical research, and how the potential story can mean more than the item itself.

 

 

So if interested, get your favorite beverage, sit back and relax, and read on…

 

While perusing an online auction site, I came across this seemingly uninteresting Japanese flag (hinomaru 日の丸) in a box. What intrigued me was the number and variety of labels on the box. I assumed the flag was a modern one. But intrigued none-the-less.

 

 

Fast forward two weeks and the box arrived. The first thing I noticed was that the flag seemed original – possibly silk or Rayon, silk himo cords on the corners with leather corner stiffeners. A quick measurement confirmed this suspicion with a Silver Ratio of  7:10 Y to X ratio and the center “sun” being 3/5Y (see Nick Komiya’s articles about yosegaki flags on Warrelics.com for an explanation on what this means). So the flag was from the time period; a pleasant surprise.

 

Next, was to tackle the various labels. A dream for practicing a bit of translating and research; though a bit frustrating as it turned out. I do not speak, read, or write Japanese. So I use a technique that I suppose many use, however I wanted to talk a little about it for those who struggle as I do and need a method. As shown in the pictures, there were 4 labels, writing, and a stamp all over the thing. To affect the translation, I started with pictures of the individual labels. I then take screen shots of the labels and, in some cases, part of the labels or individual characters. I drop those pictures into the Google search bar and hit the translate button. Here’s the tricky bit – you can’t trust the translation. It’s always something weird. But it can point you in a direction. So the next step is to reverse the process. I ask google “XXXX (whatever the words were) in Japanese kanji.” I then match the results to the kanji on the label. If it matches, great. If not, then I start putting in the individual characters and repeat the process. Sometimes I use the drawing app to draw the kanji and get an individual word. Eventually, I get to what I believe to be the closest meaning to what is written on the label. I know, it would probably be faster to just learn Japanese. But teaching an old dog new tricks and all that…

 

So get to the results, you ask. Okay, here it is. The first question is whether or not the box is as old as the flag. And I think it is. The writing on the front says “National Flag” and the stamp says “Great Japan National Flag Association.” (大日本國旗協會). The long vertical label in the center translates to Chief Priest of Meiji Jinju Admiral Arima Ryokitsu.” That’s interesting. Why is that there? More on that later, however he lived from 1861 to 1944 so if the label is period, that’s good. The round label translates to roughly “Humbly made by the Japan National Flag Company, Ltd. (日本国旗株式会社)” and their address of Tokyo City, Kyobashi-ku district, Kobikicho (a neighborhood). The important part of knowing that is because the Kyobashi district was merged into another district in 1947. More evidence the label is period. The horizontal label, says “Great Japan National Flag Association.” This was a nationalistic group that promoted the military, nationalism, and the use of the hinomaru flag. If you look at the two sets of kanji marked by arrows, you’ll notice on both labels that those characters are the old style characters used prior to the 1946 revision. This further points to the labels being period. Now to the small label on the back. The kanji means “stop”, however when combined with the .25 yen it most probably means “discontinued” or what we might say in the States “clearance.”

 

The whole package paints an interesting potential picture. An unmarked period flag in a period box labeled with the Greater Japan National Flag Association and the Japan National Flag Company with the label from Chief Priest of Meiji shrine Admiral Arima Ryokitsu.

 

 

How does it all fit together? Well, Admiral Ryokitsu was the Chief Priest of Meiji Shrine from 1931 to 1943, which matches the period for the box, labels, and the flag. Additionally, flags were sold, and sometimes blessed as an amulet, by various shrines to citizens to be used as yosegaki (寄せ書き) flags. But this flag has no writing and it has a clearance tag. So here’s my theory: the flag was made by the Japan National Flag Company Ltd. for the Greater Japan National Flag Association who donated the flag to the Meiji Shrine sometime before 1943. As it’s chief priest, Admiral Ryokitsu’s label was attached. But the flag never sold. So when Admiral Fujita took over as chief priest in 1944, the flag went on clearance. It must have sold at that time because US fire-bombing destroyed the temple in Feb 1945. And for whatever reason, the flag was never used.

 

Disclaimer: The translations, and therefore the theory, may be completely incorrect. And of course, the true story of the flag/box may never be known.

 

John C.

Edited May 18 by John C

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks John, enjoyed reading about your investigation!