Japanese Naval Flag – 34th Infantry Signed

$2,895.00

Condition: Excellent

Pattern: Rising Sun

SKU: E0096 Categories , Tags ,

In stock

Product Description: This Japanese Naval Flag – 34th Infantry Signed is a striking example of the iconic Japanese Naval ensign, featuring the bold crimson sun with radiating rays on a white field—an enduring symbol of Imperial Japan’s maritime power during the Second World War. This particular flag bears extraordinary historical significance, having been captured and subsequently inscribed by numerous members of the U.S. Army 34th Infantry Regiment, likely in the immediate aftermath of combat operations in the Pacific Theater.

The ensign exhibits expected wear consistent with wartime use and age, including fraying to the edges, scattered holes, and areas of discoloration—each imperfection a testament to its field use and provenance. The layered presence of American signatures on a Japanese military standard provides a rare and poignant juxtaposition, an artifact that embodies the tension, conflict, and eventual resolution between two opposing forces.

Such captured flags, particularly with authentic and period-signed inscriptions, are seldom encountered in this condition and scale. A deeply evocative relic of World War II, and a centerpiece for any serious collection of Pacific War militaria.

 

 

Historical Description: The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner with a red disk at the center, representing the sun. It is most commonly known in Japan as “Hinomaru,” the Circle of the Sun. The first historical reference to this flag was in the year 701; the oldest surviving example predates the 16th century. Starting with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Hinomaru flag became an important patriotic symbol, and in 1870 it became the national flag used by the Imperial Navy and by merchant ships. The Navy also used, as its ensign and war flag, a version of the sun flag, called the Rising Sun flag, that featured 16 red rays emanating from the central disk. Both the Hinomaru sun flag, and the Rising Sun flag, were very important in Imperial Japan and during World War 2. Soldiers were traditionally given signed examples of the Hinomaru flag bearing the signatures of friends and family, along with short patriotic messages wishing them luck. After WWII, use of the traditional Japanese flags was restricted, though these restrictions were later eased. Japanese flags were eagerly collected souvenirs for American servicemen in the Pacific, and genuine wartime examples remain very collectible today.

 

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