"May Your Military Fortunes Be Long Lasting"

Japanese Good Luck Flags

The World War Two era Imperial Japanese Good Luck Flag, or hinomaru yosegaki was a gift given to a departing soldier, sailor, or airman. When a man enlisted or was drafted into the armed forces, his friends, family and/or co-workers would celebrate his entry into the military. Prior to his departure, a party would be given in his honor.

At that time, an unsigned Japanese national flag would normally be placed on a table so that the group in attendance could sign, with ink and brush, their names and add their admonishments to the white field. Good Luck Flags were often highly personalized, and served to remind the soldier stationed far from home, to uphold his family’s honor by doing his duty to the fullest extent.

Collector Interview #5

Today we will be talking to Paul Garnier about how and when he first became interested in collecting Japanese military relics.  More specifically we will ...
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To Whom Do Military Relics and Medals Belong? by John Adams-Graf (published in the Military Trader, June 10, 2021)

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t read a heart-string-pulling story about “Purple Heart returned to family…” And for a good reason—these types of ...
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The King of Beasts! Literary Titan Interview with Michael Bortner on his Book Battle Carried:Tiger Art Good Luck Flags

Battle Carried examines the history and meaning of tiger imagery of good luck flags in Japanese culture. Why was this an important book for you to ...
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Collector Interview #4

Today we will be talking with Jareth Holub.  Jareth is known primarily as a Japanese Navy and Army head gear collector, although he has an ...
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Collector Interview #3

Today, I would like to introduce you to Japanese samurai sword collector, Chuck Scarl.  I first met Chuck about ten years ago at one of ...
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Collector Interview #2

Today we will be speaking with Tom Prall in our series of collector interviews.  I have known Tom for quite some time, having first met ...
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