what does this flag say?
 

IMAG0600 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I got that flag from my grandfather and am curious as to what the kanji (or katakana or hiragana) says. Any ideas? Here's a closeup:

IMAG0601 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

As for what it is... I think it's a Japanese Soldier’s Individual Flag:

The Price of Freedom: Japanese Soldier

I'd like to know what it says because I'm kinda curious about the feasibility of returning it to its family. Of course, I can't assess that if I don't even know what it says, heh.

Is this flag by any chance from Iwo Jima?

I'm not sure. My (late) grandfather was in the pacific theater in WW2 so it's possible.

Actually, I'm quite confident it's from WW2 - I just couldn't tell you the country of origin, be it from a Japanese soldier in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Japan, itself, or whatever.

I have some pictures of (presumably) my grandfather and other soldiers posing with it and a katana (I don't have the katana in my possession - it was stolen a few days after its original owner was killed).

There are only kanji used.

"Praying for the eternal good fortune of the soldiers."

Well I have a similar flag that my grandpa found while in iwo jima. I had to have it translated by a japanese man who was from that era, but I could check the notes I made of the translation later.

Edit: or somebody else could come along and translate for you :p

Thanks! :)

Flag
 

The Flag of Fallen Heroes.