The Public Service bag and other bags of the Imperial Japanese Army.

[grimnar]

Many thanks for your help Nick. Very much appreciated. One question I have for you, how close was the translation I had for this '留守宅殘品袋' bag type?
Thanks again.

Matt

[grimnar]

Tom,
Thanks for your kind words. Honestly I am not 100% sure where it belongs. What I do know is that something that contained important and fragile items would not be tied to the front of the belt. For one, every time you hit the dirt the bag would be squished under you or laying in mud and filth. Not to mention how much of a pain in the backside a bag in that position would be when on the march.
As to where it belongs, possibly deep in the pack away from dampness and dirt? Although I'm thinking Nick might be onto something when he mentioned that they may have been kept in a rear area.
Further research is need for a definitive answer.

Regards
Matt

[Nick Komiya]

I would translate '留守宅殘品袋' as "Bag for personal keepsakes deposited back home". The Japanese wording suggests it was strictly for leaving back at home. This was linked to the morbid instructions added to the pay book in 1939 that gave instructions on how one should prepare to go to war when called up. The pay book said------

1. Preparations in advance
In order for the soldier to be able to devote himself to his duty without worries over what he leaves behind, household matters should be set in order, and the family should be instructed accordingly so that, during one’s absence or after one’s death, the family need not engage in needless dispute. Details of matters to be addressed are as follows;

A. Getting family records into order
-when married, immediately register
-when having a common-law wife or a child outside the marriage, pay particular attention.
-If a dispute in the remaining family is anticipated, one may want to consider splitting the household in advance.
-Any other status changes to one or one’s family relevant to the family record should be addressed

B. Preparation of a will
-In cases where the composition of the family is complex, it is acceptable to prepare a will designating the head of the household, distribution of assets and other necessary matters.

2. Protocol for call-up
A. When a soldier goes to war, not only should one expect not to return alive, but one should also be aware that the recovery of the body may often be impossible due to death occurring deep in enemy lines, or because of the body being pulverized by enemy fire leaving not even a piece of flesh. One should make the family aware that this would be the result of the soldier’s duty being fulfilled. It is allowed to leave behind one's photos, locks of hair, clippings of finger nails, etc for the family.

B. Designate a person to manage matters in your absence, covering such matters as cash, real estate, buildings, rental or borrowed goods, dues, taxes, savings, insurance, running of the business, family budget and education of children, pensions, etc

C. If possible, pay your respects to the shrine, family grave and notify the community association, head of the city, ward or village, superiors and colleagues at work, neighbors and relatives

3. Secrecy

A. Military secrets are not to be discussed outside the authorized circle, however intimate you may be with the person, be it family, relatives or any other acquaintances.

B. Do not discuss on the phone or in public places such as theaters, bars, trains, matters such as call-ups, assigned unit designation, destination of mobilization and other classified information.

C. When being called up, do not carry banners or flags that display the designation of the unit of assignment.

D. Matters such as the composition of the unit, its equipment, strength, activities, etc. should not be discussed in letters, and neither should the unit designation be written on the envelope.

E. If inappropriate political propaganda statements are discovered in letters or among gift packages (Imon Bukuro) one should report this immediately.

F. When handling or carrying military secrets be accountable and pay thorough attention.

G. Beware of what you dispose of as trash to prevent inadvertent dispersal of classified information.

Of the above, A to E should also be explained to one’s family.

A Japanese saying that says everything nicely is "A departing bird will not leave muddy waters behind" similar to the English version, "It's a foolish bird that defiles it own nest".

[douglas2496]

Very interesting thread, thanks.

[Rod]

Terrific thread Matt, thanks for making the effort. I especially enjoy seeing the Hokobukuro with their contents displayed along side.

Aha, the Fukuro I brought is a Hokobukuro after all. Great take away, thanks Nick.

Rod

[MichaelB]

A very nice thread Matt! Thank you for your attention to detail in explaining each bag, along with the terrific photos. You may have succeeded in making a bag collector out of me after all!
I made particular note of the small paper bag that contained hair clippings in one of your posts as well as the similar note in Nick's later post. As many collectors know, hair and nails were routinely left behind for the soldier/sailor's family in anticipation of his death. In fact, those serving in action in the military were not expected to return home from battle (again, noted in Nick's post). Of importance to collectors today: there currently are organizations in the U.S. that have lobbied some of the more popular auction sites, both here and in Japan in order to have Good Luck Flags banned from sale. Their rationale is that when a soldier/sailor died, and the body was not recovered for whatever reason, nothing would be left of the person in order to conduct a funeral service for the bereaved family back home. While this is untrue, they take the next step and say that without the good luck flag and its supposed bloodied contents, the family is left with an empty grave. While the actual numbers of truly empty graves (with nothing left behind for the relatives) can never be known, Nick's post indicates that the practice (dating to the samurai days at least) was to leave something from ones body behind in order to "fill" that grave. Attempting to prevent the collecting of good luck flags, (many of which are offered for sale in Japan), within the context as stated above is at the very least, disingenuous.

Matt- I apologize for temporarily taking your marvelous thread down a good luck flag "rabbit hole" but thought it important to make note of these happenings in light of what was posted here.


MichaelB

[grimnar]

Nick, your post was absolutely wonderful. Your depth of knowledge on the subject continues to constantly amaze me. I am probably not alone in thinking this but I feel without your insight, this subject and hobby at large would be much poorer. Thank you.

[grimnar]

MichaelB,
Thank you for your kind words. You are after all the inspiration of this thread.

Please do not apologize. As a fellow flag aficionado, news like this is quite worrisome. I had not heard of it until now. I see no point to these 'crusaders'. Do they not have something better to do with their time? Heck, most of the flags I have bought over the past 3 years haven't even come from ebay. More from dealers in Japan and local sources here in Australia. I just don't get why some people want to ruin perfectly legitimate hobbies. I have heard on the grapevine that a certain west coast flag returning group has a very low return success rate. I wonder what they do with all the flags that have been 'donated' to their group, that cannot be returned to descendants of the former owner? I feel their heart is in the right place, but their disingenuousness ruins it for me. I am seeing quite a few similarities between groups like these and that fellow named Fink? who wants to ban the private selling of Purple Hearts in the US, so only his organization, that returns said Purple Hearts to descendants for publicity and profit. Again this guy and his group also have a very low success rate.

I think these are going to be very interesting times my friend.

Cheers,

Matt

[Geoff Ward]

A very interesting point.I have purchased items including medals,awards and militaria from people who have absolutely no respect or regard for their family items for whatever reason.I find it quite sad actually but personally I feel better that it will at least be in the care of someone who hopefully respects it and takes care of it until the next person winds up with it. The P.C. attitudes of society today in most cases are borne by lack of knowledge and the attitude that "That's Not Nice" War has never been a tidy business. But history is an important teacher. Just my opinion. G.

[Alowen]

Excellent post, great information. Thank you all.