Blood Soaked Hinomaru Yosegaki

Good luck flags, or hinomaru yosegaki, such as this one were commonly given to newly enlisted Japanese soldiers and signed with phrases and notes from the young soldier's neighbors, friends and family. Through baleful irony, these flags were often like death shrouds. In the harrows of the Second World War, they served only as sponges, bloating themselves on spilled blood and loose gore. Nearly every hinomaru yosegaki I've encountered has carried these dusty stains, marking the death of some forgotten person.

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