Help identifying Japanese WW2 Banner

[AlphaRaider]

Hello everyone,

 

This is a beautiful banner I recently picked up from a gentleman in Colorado, while at a Utah gunshow.

 

It was found in the private home of a family in Toyama Prefecture and that it was used by the 7th Infantry and it has some kind of information about a special attack Force. I don't have the translation on it unfortunately. He told me that it was a parade/victory banner that was flown as soldiers marched down the street.

 

Can anyone help me decipher what it says? It's huge so I haven't got the best pictures currently.  It has seen better days, there is regrettably mutiple areas damaged, however I sure am excited to own it.

 

- J. Hoff 

 

[John C]

I can't decipher it, however as you may know "special attack force" in the Navy generally referred to Kamikaze. 

 

John C.

[AlphaRaider]

I believe this is the Army side of business vs the Navy. But I'm honestly unsure. Figured there are lots of smart people here that may be able to provide some insite as to this banner.

[ckaiserca]

Running it through Google Translate does translate the smaller text in the middle towards the top as 7th Infantry Regiment. The text on the right might say Congratulations Ken Sano (a proper name?).

[AlphaRaider]

I get that portion also.  However the bottom is where I start getting lost. I don't know how well google translate does with this painted text.

-J Hoff

 

[SteveM]

Congratulations

Sanō Takeshi-kun　  Edit: given name could also be Ken, or Takeru, or a few other readings.

7th Infantry Regiment

 

The smaller writing on the bottom of the left and right banners are the names of the people who (presumably) presented the banners.

Okegawa Tarō (right)

Sakai -rō  (left) the middle bit is missing

[AlphaRaider]

Thanks for the comment @SteveM  I'd like to nail the name down so thank you for the insite.  Do you by chance know the name of this style of banner or the porpous?

 

- J Hoff

[SteveM]

It is a banner that is written in commemoration of sending someone off to war. In this case, Takeshi SANO was being sent off to war, and his friends/colleagues created these two banners (and maybe others) for him. Its called a shussei nobori (出征幟). 

 

The reason we can't nail down the pronunciation of the name, is because that one kanji (健) has multiple possible pronunciations. It's kind of like the name Stephen, where it can be pronounced either Steven or Stefan, and the only way to know is if you ask the person himself (or his mother, father, etc.). You can't tell just by the spelling.

 

My gut feeling is that "Ken" is not a popular pronunciation for this kanji during the early 1900s, so Takeshi or Takeru feels like more plausible pronunciations, but there is no way to know for sure. Even more exotic and rarer pronunciations are also possible, but those three are the most likely, and of those three my guess is that Takeshi is probably the most common. 

[AlphaRaider]

Thank you so much @SteveM I appreciate your response.  I'm excited to type out a paper for this banner.

 

Thanks for your help and insite. 

 

-J. HOFF