The flag this soldier carries into the charge is one of the most charged symbols to come out of the war. The Rising Sun flag — a red sun throwing out sixteen rays — draws on imagery as old as Japan itself, the "land of the rising sun," and had served as the war flag of the Imperial Army and Navy for decades before 1939. Under it, Japan conquered much of Asia and the Pacific. That history still stings: across South Korea, China and other lands Japan once occupied, the flag is seen much as the swastika is in Europe — a reminder of colonization and atrocity — and it has been protested and banned at international sporting events. Japan views it differently, and it remains the ensign of the country's modern navy, but few flags carry a heavier past.

The figure charges forward, a bayoneted Arisaka gripped in one hand and the Rising Sun flag streaming from the other — the colors carried to the front of an attack to rally the men and mark how far they had come. He leads the same assault as the Banzai charge and the Sergeant with Sword, with the Machine Gunner covering the rush. Held high, the flag makes him the figure a diorama is drawn to — the most dramatic piece in any Japanese assault scene, and a bit of history worth presenting with its full weight.

Model: JN050 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set