japanese flag for authenticity

[ghp95134]

Tamashi 魂 is the correct word for "soul". The implication is similar to 日本の魂 "Nippon no Tamashi" [The Soul of Japan]. Just as 心 "kokoro" could be written meaning "heart/mind/spirit" -- the one-word kanji imparts more meaning than mere words.

--Guy

[ghp95134]

戦艦旗の下で.. .. 栖原
Senkan-ki no moto de~ [Suhara*]

Under the warship flag ~ [surname]

Above left of 魂 tamashi is a fancy circle with the word "fu" (封) -- this means "sealed" and is used on legal documents when a seal-stamp is not available. In England and the U.S. -- up through the 1900s (if not later) -- we did the same thing on wills and last testaments. I've seen similar filigreed circles with "his seal" written inside on many 18th century Will [see here, bottom of page].

The person who wrote Tamashi 魂 is named 三浦一人 Miura Kazuhito.

--Guy

EDIT: Writer's surname is "Suhara" [I've known of a Buddhist priest named Suhara Koun.

* Six different pronunciations for the same kanji:
栖原(さいばら) Saibara [surname]
栖原(しゅはら) Shuhara [surname]
栖原(すはら) Suhara [place, surname]
栖原(すばら) Subara [surname]
栖原(せいはら) Seihara [surname]
栖原(ならはら) Narahara [surname]

[ghp95134]

To the right of 戦艦旗の下で -- and within the same red square -- is something written in a different hand:

射場蘇一
Sha-jo So Ichi

射場 Shajo= firing range and/or archery range
蘇 So = resurrected / be revived
一 Ichi = one

My take on this, tempered by the saying "bu-bun ichi" [martial arts-literature unified; or more smoothly: the unification of martial arts and literature] ... so, with that said, I THINK this means "Unity of Resurrection While Practicing Marksmanship."

--Guy

[ghp95134]

Bottom right corner:

勇
中糸

Isamu [Courage!]
Nakaito [surname]

[josephc]

thank you all again. when I look at the post I do not see the actual Japanese symbols typed in the responses but see rectangles with numbers and letters in them. How do I relate to japanese symbols or am I missing a software application that will show me the characters?
Joe

[ghp95134]

....How do I relate to japanese symbols?

Joe,

Try this:

For Internet Explorer

• Go to "View," and the "Encoding"
• Select "Japanese (Auto-Select)"

For Netscapte or Firefox

• Go to "View," and then "Character Encoding"
• Select "Auto-Detect," and then "Japanese"

If re-configuring your browser doesn’t work, have a look through these software options: [see link I gave]


Good luck!
--Guy

[josephc]

I received the flag today and am surprised that its size is rather large at 28 inch by 33 inch. Does the size of the flag give any indication as to the owner's stature or rank?

[Adrian Stevenson]

I don't think size has any bearing.

Cheers, Ade.

[Stu W]

I received the flag today and am surprised that its size is rather large at 28 inch by 33 inch. Does the size of the flag give any indication as to the owner's stature or rank?

That is well within the average size range. Larger ones tend to be over 40 inches on the long axis. Size is not indicative of rank.

Regards,
Stu

[Adrian Stevenson]

Just measured mine out of curiosity, about 30 x 31 inches.

Japanese Soldiers Prayer flag and some personal effects

Cheers, Ade.