Hinomaru no Yosegaki

[RussM]

I received this flag a couple of days ago. It looks to be a fairly standard flag but I sent these images to Guy to cast an eye over them to see if there was anything interesting on it. Expecting it to be mostly names etc but it turns out there were several slogans as well as signatures!





















Guy has very kindly provided the following translations of the slogans and the stamps.

Here is the marked-up pic:



1. Right margin:
皇威照宇宙
Imperial Authority, Bright Heavens

2. Seal1:
日本第一大軍神
Japan's Greatest God of War

3. Seal2:
官幣大社諏訪神社
Kanpei Taisha Suwa Jinja
Imperial Grand Shrine, Suwa Shrine
Found a clear copy of the stamp here: 戦前の御朱印帳　③諏訪大社.四柱.穂高など…信州編 - 八王子神社 （信州.大町）
御朱印さんぽ




The writer says, "Before the war, it was known as Kanpei Taisha Suwa Shrine. This goshuin [temple seal] is from 1929."


4. 奉戴神訓可致赤誠矣
Electing God's Teachings Can Cause Sincerety!
[矣 Literary exclamation!!] I'm really unsure about my translation here; for the most part I had to discect the sentence word-by-word ... and that's not a good way to translate. You might get a gist of what the writer meant, though.

5. 祈武運長久
Inori Bu'un Chōkyū
Prayers/Wishes for Continued Success in the Fortunes of War

6. 佛心鬼手
Busshin Kisshu
Buddha's Heart, Devil's Hand
When I searched this the results all had the phrases reversed: 鬼手佛心 Kisshu Busshin; Devil's Hand, Buddha's Heart. And there I found an English translation: "Cruel operation with the merciful heart of Buddha."

7. 祈武運
Inori Bu'un
Prayers for the Fortunes of War; I guess just an abbreviated cheer?

8. 超越死生
9. 一身七年公
Chōetsu Shisei
Isshin Shichi-nen Kō
Transcendence of life and death
One Body, Seven Years for the State
[Not sure about 年]

10. 興亜之礎
Ko-A no Ishizue
Foundation Stone of East Asia

11. 祈武運長久
Inori Bu'un Chōkyū
Prayers/Wishes for Continued Success in the Fortunes of War

12. 斃而後止・意氣
Unto You are Fallen -- Have Heart!

13. 至誠奉公・国家不城
Shisei Hōkō. Kokka Fujō
Sincere/Devoted Service・The Nation is No Castle

14. 征け!! 衡け!!
Seike!! Kōke!!
Conquer!! Balance!!

15. 破!!
Yabure!!
Rend!! [This goes along with the above 2, same writer]

16. This was the toughest for me ... often when I'm stumped like this it has to do with religion.
飛行三眛成就東洋
Flying Samahdi [enlightenment] is the Fullfillment of the East [meaning East Asia]
Perhaps from the 金剛三昧經 Kongō Sanmaikyō Vajrasamadhi-sutra [Diamond Medative Consciousness Sutra]
Sutra of the Vajra Samadhi, 金剛三昧經卷上

17. 忠君愛国徳武文治
Loyal & Patriotic
His name follows so closely it looks like part of the aphorism: 徳武文治 Tokutake Bunji

18. 祈武運長久
Inori Bu'un Chōkyū
Prayers/Wishes for Continued Success in the Fortunes of War

19. 祈武運長久
Inori Bu'un Chōkyū
Prayers/Wishes for Continued Success in the Fortunes of War

20. 祈武運長久
Inori Bu'un Chōkyū
Prayers/Wishes for Continued Success in the Fortunes of War

21. 頑張レ
Ganbare!
Good Luck [More like "Do Your BEST!"]


As always Guy, thank you so much for your work! It is truly appreciated!

Russ

[MAP]

Great item and kudos to Guy

[ghp95134]

I do want to say that I am uncomfortable with some of my "translations" especially:

4. 奉戴神訓可致赤誠矣
Electing God's Teachings Can Cause Sincerety!

and

16. 飛行三眛成就東洋
Flying Samahdi [enlightenment] is the Fullfillment of the East [meaning East Asia]

Hopefully Akira-san or SteveM can clean up my "dog's breakfast."

-- Guy

[SteveM]

Not a dog's breakfast. You've done all the heavy lifting, and I'm just picking at loose threads.


4. I would have to make a guess at this one too;
奉戴神訓可致赤誠矣
One must cherish (hold dear/worship) with sincerity the lessons of the gods/ancestors.
可致 = いたすべき = must

9. 一身七奉公
One life, seven devotions to country (the writer is using a mixture of idioms). It means even if I were reborn seven times, I would devote each life to the country.

13. 国家干城　Kokka kanjō. Defense of the country.

14 & 15. 征け、衝け、破れ　Yuke, tsuke, yabure.
Advance, Strike, Destroy!

16. 飛行三眛成就東洋
Yeah, this is probably the writer flexing some poetic urge, but its lost on me. I kind of suspect it isn't Samadhi, rather its just sanmai/zanmai. My wild guess: Mastery of the skies is the crowning achievement of East Asia.

[ghp95134]

Thanks a lot, Steve!!

[RussM]

Many thanks Steve for shedding some further light on these slogans! Very much appreciated! It’s a very interesting flag!

[Razorback76]

Nice one Russ!

[Akira Komiya]

I was puzzled by the word 三昧, pronounced in Japanese as "sanmai" or "zanmai" depending on the context, as in modern Japanese the word has a completely different meaning than its original meaning. When we use the word today, it means something like "indulging in something to one's own content". You may have heard of a Sushi Restaurant chain in Japan called "すしざんまい”＝ Sushi Zanmai, which used to be the regular winner of the bidding for the first tuna fish sold at the Tsukiji market upon its reopening after the New Year's holidays.
However, the word had its origins in the Bhuddist term Samahdi and originally meant a state of deep concentration in mediation dispelling any worldly (secular) thoughts.
So I believe the slogan means something like "By dispelling any worldly thoughts and concentrating on flying, you will achieve our goal of (unifying) East Asia (under Japan's initiative)".

[RussM]

Many thanks Akira for your detailed explanation of the word and your interpretation of the slogan as written on the flag. The recipient must have felt a great weight on his shoulders to succeed in his duty, as they all did. Most interesting and very much appreciated Akira!

[Gunbatsu]

Beautiful Flag Russ! Thanks for sharing.