Two questions: Can anyone read kanji, and can you iron really old silk?

[Brazen]

Don't apply direct heat or water. Try hanging them in a steamy bathroom after a shower.

[sbr]

Don't apply direct heat or water. Try hanging them in a steamy bathroom after a shower.

There has to be a testicle joke in there somewhere, I just can't find it at the moment.

[The Brain]

Just take the fucking pictures, bitch.

[Caliga]

Fine... happy now? 

[garbon]

So wrinkly.

[Caliga]

So wrinkly.

I told ya.

The flag has been stuffed inside a crown royal bag with a bunch of other flags, plus one of those Jap bandanas Daniel-san wore, for at least 20 years... probably closer to 40.

[PDH]

That is pretty wrinkly. Have you thought of finding some way to get rid of the wrinkles?

[Caliga]

I'm thinking of throwing it in the washer set to hot and dumping a gallon of bleach in there with it.

[Caliga]

btw I figured out earlier today what these flags all are: they're examples of hinomaru yosegaki, which have kind of a sad story to them. 

I consider these the best items of militaria I own, since I paid zero dollars for them all.  My dad got them for me when he worked for General Mills Restaurants (now known as Darden): he acquired a local restaurant in Valley Forge called the Red Lion Inn and was in there while it was being gutted, in preparation for turning it into an Olive Garden.  The owner had died the year before and his son had decided he didn't want to keep the business going and had sold out.  He and my dad were doing a walkthrough and he took my dad into his father's office and opened up the safe, which was full of all of "this old crap dad had".  His dad had been in the USMC during WWII and fought in the PTO.  He told my dad he didn't want any of his dad's keepsakes from the war, "and besides you bought the place so you own it now."  So my dad and another exec friend of his named Ken split the loot up.

In addition to the bag full of hinomaru, the guy had a USMC "jungle warfare survival guide" printed manual, which I also have... somewhere.    He also apparently liked to collect militaria in general, as he also had a British Army epaulet (the brass part) from the mid-18th century, which I also have.  Ken took an Arisaka samurai bayonet (my dad remembered I already had one of these), a vintage Colt M1911, and probably some other shit I'm forgetting.

To this day I still can't believe a guy's son would give his dad's prized possessions away so readily like that.

[katmai]

Just imagine he had the relationship you have with your mother.

[Monoriu]

You have it upside down 

The five largest words at the bottom of your pic mean "pray for longlasting military fortune". 

I'll try to read the rest when I have more time.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Once I saw the pic I knew it was a "good luck flag" couldn't recall the Japanese til I saw Cal's post about how he got them.

My two cents is the one aside from the aforementioned wrinkliness looks in very decent shape.

[katmai]

You have it upside down 

The five largest words at the bottom of your pic mean "pray for longlasting military fortune". 

I'll try to read the rest when I have more time.

Guess they didn't pray hard enough.

[Monoriu]

Alright, I've turned the pic around on my computer and can start to read it.  The majority of these are names.  Looks like somebody in the unit had a flag, wrote five large characters at the top to wish for good luck, then asked everybody to sign their names.  Many also wrote a few extra words of encouragement when they signed.  The most obvious one is on the right hand side.  There are 7 characters in bold written vertically.  They mean "One male willing to die for his country", then there are 3 much paler characters (which is a name) below these 7.

[Jaron]

Magnificent. So much history in that flag.