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Japanese Naval Flag, Translation help!


historyrecovered
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historyrecovered

Hello Friends! 

I came across this flag, I believe it to be a Japanese naval retired officer regiment flag. It's a bit rough but what do you expect? (haha!)

Can someone please help with the translation of the hand written part? I assume it is the city or something. 

A admin friend will be uploading photos shortly!.. 

 

Thanks so much!

 

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vintageproductions

It is a time expired soldiers league and the flag is an Army rising sun version as the sun is centered instead of off to the left.

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I believe it says:

帝國佐鄕軍人會

八幡市役所分會

In modern Japanese:

帝国在郷軍人会 
teikoku zaigō gunjinkai 

Imperial Veterans Association (something like that).

八幡市役所分会

yawata-shi yakusho bunkai 

Yawata City Hall Branch (In Kyoto prefecture)
 

This is their official association flag it seems. The insignia in the corner is that of the association. It combines symbols of the Army and Navy. 

Reading online in Japanese it says it was formed in 1910 for the Army but expanded to include the Navy in 1914. It gained increased importance through the 30s and reached around 3 million members. After 1936 it was under the supervision of the Ministry of the Army and Ministry of the Navy. Appears to basically of been for people separated from active duty before World War 2. Members could still be in the reserves or in some other role. Appears to of been involved in the typical Veteran organization things as well as promoting militarism, providing preparatory training, helping prepare for mobilization of troops, as well as maintaining order in the community.

 

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Some pictures of other flags from google. Some branches were only for The Navy. This one is marked for a navy branch. But it is also has the sun centered. 

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historyrecovered

Thank you so much for everyone help on this one! I really appreciate learning about different countries, especially their militaria!

Would you all say this is a rare flag ?  The seller is asking bout 130$, I personally have never seen one until this one. 

 

It is about 20 to 40 inches without the fringe I would say....

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manayunkman

It’s cool as heck no mater.

$130 seems reasonable though I really have no idea.

Does this post meet the criteria of the Spoils of War sub forum?

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historyrecovered

for sure! And yes, I believe so as one of the mods said I should post it here to begin with. I was mostly looking for an ID on this bring back. 

But at this point I fee I have the information I need : ) 

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It looks like there were around 15,000 branches or sub-divisions of the association from its headquarters in Tokyo on down to the lowest levels. That could maybe give you an idea of rarity. 
 

I have no idea of the value of Japanese militaria, but if you like it I think $130 sounds pretty reasonable. 

Here is a video and you can this style of flag in use. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zYkAeUMNsVI

 

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historyrecovered
19 minutes ago, DiGilio said:

It looks like there were around 15,000 branches or sub-divisions of the association from its headquarters in Tokyo on down to the lowest levels. That could maybe give you an idea of rarity. 
 

I have no idea of the value of Japanese militaria, but if you like it I think $130 sounds pretty reasonable. 

Here is a video and you can this style of flag in use. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zYkAeUMNsVI

 

Wow so cool thanks again for all your help! it is such a neat piece of history!

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Yeah. It’s a cool flag. I’m learning a lot just looking up info on it. 
 

I originally said it was from a city in Kyoto Prefecture but I just found there was another city using the kanji 八幡市、this one using the reading Yahata-shi. This one was located in Fukuoka Prefecture but disappeared in 1963 after it was absorbed into Kitakyūshū city.

This one was firebombed and has some interesting history related to the Nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Yawata

I don’t think you will ever be able to tell exactly which city it came from though. 

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Never mind, I was wrong. The Japanese Wikipedia page says the 八幡市 in Kyoto Prefecture was established in its current form in 1964. 

So perhaps the flag is from the one in Fukuoka Prefecture, in which case it is more historical.

It’s possible there were other cities in Japan with that name though. Many places in Japan use the same Kanji in their names, although usually not 2 cities at the same time. However, someone else may be able to confirm if that was the only place with the designation of city (市) and the name 八幡 during that timeframe. 

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historyrecovered

Thanks I will look into this for sure, it is so interesting to learn more about this , the more I read about what you are sharing the more I think I need to grab it!

 

Also I will send you a PM DiGilio !

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vintageproductions

These flags are still fairly easy to buy in Japan.

They sell here for $250.00 - $350, but are super slow movers.

I have had them in the original carrying case, with flag pole, finial, and metal stand, and have had a hard time selling them for any higher then $400.00 with all the parts.

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manayunkman

After taking a closer look I notice it had a lot of damage to the silk which might prove problematic in the future.

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