Joe Rosenberg, a producer known for his storytelling prowess, shares the emotional history of Japanese good luck flags, gifted to soldiers during WWII with heartfelt messages from loved ones. Kurt Kolstad, a contributor and Antarctica enthusiast, discusses the intriguing lack of an official flag for the frozen continent, despite its many national representations. Together, they explore themes of memory, reconciliation, and the significance of flags as symbols of community and national identity.
44:14
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Museum Discovery
Joe Rosenberg discovered a unique Japanese flag at the Alameda Naval Air Museum.
It was a Hinomaru covered in handwritten messages.
insights INSIGHT
Good Luck Flags
The flag was a "good luck flag" (yosagaki hinomaru), a WWII Japanese tradition.
Messages included well wishes, personal notes, and sometimes militant statements.
insights INSIGHT
Flag Origins
The tradition's exact origin is unknown, but it likely began in the 1930s.
Soldiers often received multiple flags from family, work, and community groups.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This book provides a cultural and political history of Japan, exploring its transformation from a closed society to a modern nation. Harding delves into various stories, including those of peripheral figures, to illustrate Japan's search for identity and its evolution over time.
Correction: Our staff producer pronounced the the Japanese word "ōbōn" incorrectly in this episode. It is pronounced OH-bohn not oh-BAHN.
Let us be the first to wish you a Happy Flag Day, beautiful nerds! Anyone who has listened to 99% Invisible regularly knows we have a thing for flags, which can beautiful things that give communities something symbolic to rally around. This year, we decided to get the celebration started early then keep the party going with two whole weeks of flag-related stories. They look like normal Japanese flags (hinomaru) at a glance, but upon inspection, they are covered in handwritten notes often radiating outward in kanji from the central red circle (a sun against a field of white). Different messages are written in different hands directly on the fabric. These so-called "good luck flags" were gifted to soldiers, particularly during WWII, as part of a send-off from loved ones -- and their name in English comes from one of the most commonly written phrases on them: good luck. Antarctica is a wonderfully strange place, and not just because of its infamously frigid climate. This huge landmass doesn’t have an independent government or even a permanent human population. It also has a lot of flags, though strangely: no single official one. Flag Days: Good Luck, True South
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.
99% Invisible 
