List of Japanese flags

This is a list of Japanese flags, past and present. Historically, each daimyo had its own flag. (See sashimono and uma-jirushi.)

National flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	August 13, 1999 –	Civil and state flag and ensign of Japan.	Flag ratio: 2:3. This flag was designed by Proclamation No. 127, 1999. The sun-disc is perfectly centered.
	February 27, 1870 – August 12, 1999	Civil and state flag and ensign of the Empire of Japan, and the Japanese state.	Flag ratio: 7:10. Disc is shifted 1% towards the hoist (left). This flag was designed by Proclamation No. 57, 1870.

Imperial flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1869–	Imperial Standard of the Emperor of Japan	16 petal chrysanthemum, colored in gold, centered on a red background
	1926–	Imperial Standard of the Regent of Japan	Similar to the Emperor's standard, but with a white border
	1926–	Imperial Standard of the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Grand Empress Dowager	A pennant of the Imperial Standard
	1926–	Imperial Standard of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Grandson	Similar to the Emperor's standard, but with a white orle
	1926–	Imperial Standard of the Crown Princess and the wife of the Imperial Grandson	A pennant of the Standard of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Grandson
	1926–	Imperial Standard of other members of the Imperial House	A gold 16-petaled chrysanthemum centered on a white background with a red border

Governmental flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1872–1887	Ensign of Japan Post	Hinomaru with a red horizontal bar placed in the center of the flag.
	1892–	Ensign of Japan Customs	White represents land, blue represents sea, and the red disc represents the customs on a border.

Military flags

Self-Defense Force and Imperial Army/Navy

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1954–	Flag of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	A sun disc design with 8 red rays extending outward, and a gold border partially around the edge.
	1889–1945, 1954–	Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force	Sun disc with 16 rays on a white field, with the disc skewed to the hoist
	1972–	Ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	The first flag dates from 1955. The current ensign is the third one.
	1972–	Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background
	1972–	Naval standard of the Prime Minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background
	1972–	Standard of the Minister of Defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–	Naval standard of the Minister of Defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–	Standard of the Vice Minister of Defense of Japan	Four cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–	Naval standard of the Vice Minister of Defense of Japan	Four cherry blossoms on a magenta background
		Standard of Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
		Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
		Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1982–	Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
	1965–	Standard of vice admiral of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1965–	Standard of rear admiral of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1965–	Standard of commodore of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1965–	Standards of commander of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1965–	Standard of senior captain of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1905–1945, 2011–	The "Z flag", unofficial naval ensign	Derived from International maritime signal flag "Z" Made famous by its use to signal the opening of the Battle of Tsushima
		Flag of composite forces chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
	1972–	Flag of infantry battalion group of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
	1982–	Flag of air defense command of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
	1870–1945	War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army	Centered sun disc with 16 rays on a white field
	1889–1945	Standard of admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	1914–1945	Standard of vice admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	1914–1945	Standard of rear admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	1914–1945	Standard of commodore of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	–1945	Standard of commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	–1945	Standard of senior captain of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	–1945	Standard of duty ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Japan Coast Guard

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1951–	Ensign of the Japan Coast Guard	The symbol represents a mariner's compass.
	1951–	Standard of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
	1951–	Standard of the Japan Coast Guard Commandant
	1951–	Standard of the Commander of Regional Coast Guard Headquarters
	1951–	Flag of Commander

Historical flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	19th century	Flag of the Tokugawa Shogunate[1]	A tricolour flag consisting of three bands; white, black, and white.
	1869–1875	Flag of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
	1905–1910	Flag of the Resident General of Korea	A blue ensign with the Flag of Japan in the canton
	1945–1952	Civil and naval ensign during the occupation of Japan	Derived from International maritime signal flag "E"
	1950 (Jan–Mar)	Proposed flag of Okinawa	Called the Okinawan Flag (沖縄旗) or the Ryukyu Flag (琉球旗), proposed by the Okinawa Civil Government. The US administration stated they would decide the flag after the foundation of the unified government of the islands. However, the flag was forgotten ever since. Red, white, and blue represent peace, freedom, and enthusiasm, respectively. A star represents hope.
	1952–1967	Civil ensign during the occupation of Okinawa	Derived from International maritime signal flag "D"

Minorities

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1973–	Unofficial flag of the Ainu people	Designed by Ainu artist Bikki Sunazawa. Cerulean blue stands for sky and sea, white for snow and red for an aconite arrow which is running in the snow beneath Hokkaidō's sky.
	1946??–	Flag of Mindan	Flag of Mindan, a pro-South organization of Zainichi Koreans. The pink flower surrounding the taegeuk is a hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. The formal name of the society (Zainihon Daikanminkoku Mindan) is written in kanji in white, and the abbreviation (Mindan) is written in hangul in yellow. The blue field of the flag stands for clear sky and sea.
	1923–1945?	Flag of National Levelers Association / Buraku Liberation League	Flag of National Levelers Association, a burakumin rights group, and Buraku Liberation League, NLA's succeeding group. Named the Crown of Thorns Flag (荊冠旗 Keikanki). Black represents a dark society with discriminations. Red represents blood.
	1945?–	Flag of Buraku Liberation League	The current Buraku Liberation League flag, with a white star representing hope.

Cultural flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1919–	Flag of safety	Named the Green Cross (緑十字 Midori-jūji). Designed by Toshifumi Gamō as the symbol of the governmental "safety week" campaign. The cross represents philanthropism in Western sense, and the place where good deeds gather in Oriental sense. JIS Z9103-1986 designates the symbol as the safety indication sign.
	1953–	Flag of industrial health	Announced by the Labour Standards Bureau, the Ministry of Labor of Japan (the current Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), over a public subscription.
	1965–	Flag of safety and health	Designed by the Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association. These three flags are frequently flown on factories or construction sites.
	1886-	Postal flag	The Postal symbol, 〒, on a white field.

Prefectural flags

Each modern prefecture has a unique flag, most often a bicolour geometric highly stylised design (mon), often incorporating the letters of Japanese writing system. A distinct feature of these flags is that they use a palette of colours not usually found in flags, including orange, purple, aquamarine and brown.

Some prefectures also have alternative official flags called "symbol flags" (シンボル旗). They may be used on less formal occasions. Famous symbol flags include the one used in Tokyo.

Flag	Prefecture	Geocode	Description
	Aichi	JP-23	Stylised hiragana of あいち (Aichi). The emblem also expresses sunrise and wave to indicate Aichi's location facing the Pacific Ocean.
	Akita	JP-05	Stylised katakana of ア (a), the first syllable of "Akita".
	Aomori	JP-02	Stylised map of the prefecture.
	Chiba	JP-12	Stylised katakana of チバ (Chiba). Blue stands for hope and progress, yellow for prefecture flower, rapeseed.
	Ehime	JP-38	Yellow stands for happiness, green for peace and white for simplicity and purity. The mon represents orange, the prefectural flower.
	Fukui	JP-18	Stylised katakana of フクイ (Fukui). The emblem stands for harmony and cooperation of people.
	Fukuoka	JP-40	Stylised hiragana of ふく (fuku). It also represents ume (plum), the prefectural flower.
	Fukushima	JP-07	Stylised hiragana of ふ (fu).
	Gifu	JP-21	Stylised kanji 岐 (gi). The emblem expresses peace and harmony. The green stands for the nature of Gifu.
	Gunma	JP-10	Stylised kanji 群 (gun) and three crescents which stand for three mountains Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna and Mount Myōgi. Purple was selected as refined colour suitable to Gunma's cultural inheritance.
	Hiroshima	JP-34	Stylized katakana of ヒ (hi).
	Hokkaidō	JP-01	A seven-pointed star standing for hope and development. Blue represents sea and sky of Hokkaidō, red stands for people's energy and white for light and snow.
	Hyōgo	JP-28	Stylized kanji of 兵 (hyō). It also represents the stylised map of the prefecture, facing the Seto Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan.
	Ibaraki	JP-08	The prefectural flower rose on blue field. Blue stands for the Pacific Ocean and Mount Tsukuba.
	Ishikawa	JP-17	The mon is a stylised form of its name in kanji, 石川 (Ishikawa). It also represents the stylised map of the prefecture.
	Iwate	JP-03	Stylised kanji of 岩 (iwa) which symbolises advanced progress.
	Kagawa	JP-37	Stylised and slightly rotated katakana of カ (ka). It also represents mountains, as well as leaves of the olive, the prefectural tree.
	Kagoshima	JP-46	Stylised map of the prefecture, with Sakurajima in the center.
	Karafuto	N/A	Stylised kanji of 太 (futo) in the form of three birch 樺 (kaba) leaves and fruit, making the rebus of 樺太 (Karafuto). Used from 1911–1945; the territory is now part of Russia.
	Kanagawa	JP-14	Stylised kanji of 神 (ka). The Japanese national colours were chosen due to the Yokohama seaport, long used as a primary gateway into Japan, being located within the prefecture.
	Kōchi	JP-39	Stylised hiragana of とさ (Tosa), the name of the former province. The mon also incorporates 90 degrees rotated katakana of コ (ko).
	Kumamoto	JP-43	Stylised katakana of ク (ku). It also represents the stylised map of Kyūshū.
	Kyoto	JP-26	Stylized kanji of 京 (kyō).
	Mie	JP-24	Stylized hiragana of み (mi). The circle also represents pearls aquafarmed in the prefecture.
	Miyagi	JP-04	Stylised hiragana of み (mi). It also represents the miyaginohagi (lespedeza), the prefectural flower.
	Miyazaki	JP-45	Stylized katakana of ミ (mi).
	Nagano	JP-20	Orange flag with white mon closer to the hoist. The mon is a stylized katakana of ナ (na). It also represents mountains mirrored on a lake.
	Nagasaki	JP-42	Stylised form of the letter N. It also represents a dove, the symbol of peace. There are two versions, one with the prefectural name in kanji, another without it. Both are official.
	Nara	JP-29	Stylised katakana of ナ (na).
	Niigata	JP-15	The symbol on the top is a stylised kanji 新 (nii) of Niigata, while the left half of the circle is a stylised katakana for ガ (ga) and the right, タ (ta).
	Ōita	JP-44	Three stylised kanji of 大 (ō). Each kanji also represents a flying bird, and the whole symbol represents the sun. There are two versions, one with the prefectural name in kanji, another without it. Both are official.
	Okayama	JP-33	Stylized kanji of 岡 (oka). The simplified version uses the white symbol instead of gold.
	Okinawa	JP-47	White letter O within a red disc on a white field.
	Ōsaka	JP-27	The blue stands for cleanness, freshness and intelligence and also represents the sky and sea due to Ōsaka City having both an airport and seaport. The blue also represents Ōsaka's nickname water city, due to having many rivers and facing two seas. The mon represents calabash, the symbol of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Circles also mean the letter O.
	Saga	JP-41	The mon is Japanese cinnamon, the prefectural flower.
	Saitama	JP-11	Sixteen magatama (ornamental beads) representing the sun as well as development and strength. Magatama were found in Sakitama Kofun (ancient tombs), Gyōda, which is the origin of the name of the prefecture. White stands for purity and friendship.
	Shiga	JP-25	Stylised katakana of シガ (Shiga). The circle in the centre represents Lake Biwa.
	Shimane	JP-32	Four stylised katakana of マ (ma). In Japanese, "four" is shi.
	Shizuoka	JP-22	Stylised map of the prefecture and Mount Fuji. Blue stands for the sky and the Pacific Ocean and orange for sun light, passion and unity of people.
	Tochigi	JP-09	Stylised kanji of 栃 (tochi) and kanji 木 (gi) with three arrows. The flag represents improvement and active motion.
	Tokushima	JP-36	Stylised hiragana of とく (toku). It also represents a flying bird.
	Tokyo	JP-13	The sun represents the developing capital city Tokyo. This is the official "metropolitan flag", used on formal occasions. See Insignias of Tokyo for details.
			The symbol at the centre consists of three arcs combined to resemble a ginkgo leaf and represent T for Tokyo.[2] This is the official "symbol flag", used more frequently than the flag (crest) above. See Insignias of Tokyo for details.
	Tottori	JP-31	The symbol is meant to represent the hiragana と (to) and a bird (tori) to form a rebus of Tottori.
	Toyama	JP-16	The symbol is meant to represent the hiragana と (to) and two mountains (yama) to form a rebus of Toyama. It also represents Mount Tateyama.
	Wakayama	JP-30	Stylised katakana of ワ (wa).
	Yamagata	JP-06	Three mountains (yama). The form also represents the stream of the Mogami River running through Yamagata. Blue stands for desire for peace and ideal, white for snow and purity of people.
	Yamaguchi	JP-35	Stylised kanji of 山口 (Yamaguchi). The emblem represents a bird flying towards the sun and stands for cooperation and progress of people.
	Yamanashi	JP-19	Stylised kanji of 山 (yama) in the centre of Mount Fuji. Purple represents the grape, a popular product of Yamanashi.

Municipal flags

Most municipalities have unique flags. Like prefectural flags, most of them are with a bicolor geometric highly stylized symbol, often incorporating Japanese characters.

References

1. http://www.fotw.net/flags/jp_daimy.html#tok
2. http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PROFILE/appendix05.htm