WWII Named Signed Personal Good Luck Flag with Boarding Stamps of a Cargo Ship Sunk in 1944 by U.S. Submarine 25 by 35 1/2 Inches

The flag is named to “Yamaguchi” (his first name is not entirely clear). The flag bears the declaration of “Praying for Continued Luck in the Fortunes of War”, as well as the names of the “Greater Japanese Defense Womens Association” and the “Manager, Friends of Shida District”. The flag has a red square shrine stamp for the Seigan Temple at
Maibara, Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture. The flag also has two large red stamps that depict a cargo ship (the stamp was evidently applied twice because the first stamps did not make a complete impression on the flag). These stamps bear the designation of “Souvenir of Boarding” and the name of the Nissan Steamship Co, Ltd., Tokyo City, Tamura Town. The ship that Yamaguchi boarded, and where he had his flag adorned with the stamp, can be read on the image of the ship, and it was the “Ishin-Maru”. The Ishin-Maru later had its name changed to the “Nichiwa Maru”, and it was sunk in May of 1944 by the United States Navy submarine USS Tunny . The name change to the ship would have been effected by 1939. That fact, and the fact of the Tokyo address used for the shipping company on the stamp, date the flag to 1938. The ship’s stamp also identifies offices of the ship, including Ship’s Captain Yasuda Daisuke;  Chief Engineer Imoto; Communications Chief Masuda; Director Umeda Kazuichi; and Purser Tani Eikichi.  The silk flag is approximately 25 by 35 1/2 inches in size, with ties at two corners. The flag has typical spots and expected signs of age and carry, but it is in overall excellent condition.