List of Japanese flags

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

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National flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	August 13, 1999 – present	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 and is a brighter shade of red.
	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
	1868–present	Imperial Standard of the Emperor of Japan	16 petal chrysanthemum, colored in gold, centered on a red background
	1926–present	Imperial Standard of the Regent of Japan	Similar to the Emperor's standard, but with a white border
	1926–present	Imperial Standard of the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Grand Empress Dowager	A pennant of the Imperial Standard
	1926–present	Imperial Standard of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Grandson who is an heir apparent	Similar to the Emperor's standard, but with a white orle
	1926–present	Imperial Standard of the Crown Princess and the wife of the Imperial Grandson	A pennant of the Standard of the Crown Prince
	1926–present	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–present	Ensign of Japan Customs	White represents land, blue represents sea, and the red disc represents the customs on a border.
	1995–2020	Flag of the NHK	White flag with the NHK logo.
	2020–present		White flag with the NHK logo.

Military flags[]

Self-Defense Force and Imperial Army/Navy[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1954–present	Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and 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	Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy	Sun disc with 16 rays on a white field, with the disc skewed to the hoist
	1954–present	Ensign of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force	Sun disc with 16 rays on a white field, with the disc skewed to the hoist
	1955–1957	Former ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Used from 1955 to 1957.
	1957–1972	Former ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Used from 1957 to 1972.
	1972–2001	Former ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Used from 1972 to 2001.
	2001–present	Ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Current ensign, used since 2001.
	1972–present	Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background
	1972–present	Naval standard of the Prime Minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background
	1972–present	Standard of the Minister of Defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–present	Naval standard of the Minister of Defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–present	Standard of the Vice Minister of Defense of Japan	Four cherry blossoms on a magenta background
	1972–present	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
	1954–	Masthead pennant 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	Naval ensign of the Tokugawa Shogunate[1]	A bicolour flag consisting of three bands; white, black, and white.
	1905–1910	Flag of the Empire of Japan	A white flag with a red circle in the Middle
	1797–1945	Civil and naval ensign of the Empire of Japan	Derived from the Japanese Flag
	1879[2]–Present	Current Flag of Japan	A white flag with a red Circle in the Middle
	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"
	1967–1972	Civil ensign of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyus pennant above Japanese flag was used during U.S. occupation of Ryukyu Islands.

Minorities[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	(1996) 1994–[citation needed]	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[citation needed]	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–[citation needed]	Flag of Buraku Liberation League	The current Buraku Liberation League flag, with a white star representing hope.
	?–[citation needed]	Flag of Ainu	.

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 and resembling company logos. 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
	Aichi	JP-23
	Akita	JP-05
	Aomori	JP-02
	Chiba	JP-12
	Ehime	JP-38
	Fukui	JP-18
	Fukuoka	JP-40
	Fukushima	JP-07
	Gifu	JP-21
	Gunma	JP-10
	Hiroshima	JP-34
	Hokkaidō	JP-01
	Hyōgo	JP-28
	Ibaraki	JP-08
	Ishikawa	JP-17
	Iwate	JP-03
	Kagawa	JP-37
	Kagoshima	JP-46
	Kanagawa	JP-14
	Karafuto	N/A
	Kōchi	JP-39
	Kumamoto	JP-43
	Kyoto	JP-26
	Mie	JP-24
	Miyagi	JP-04
	Miyazaki	JP-45
	Nagano	JP-20
	Nagasaki	JP-42
	Nara	JP-29
	Niigata	JP-15
	ŌitaŌita	JP-44
	Okayama	JP-33
	Okinawa	JP-47
	Ōsaka	JP-27
	Saga	JP-41
	Saitama	JP-11
	Shiga	JP-25
	Shimane	JP-32
	Shizuoka	JP-22
	Tochigi	JP-09
	Tokushima	JP-36
	Tokyo	JP-13
	Tottori	JP-31
	Toyama	JP-16
	Wakayama	JP-30
	Yamagata	JP-06
	Yamaguchi	JP-35
	Yamanashi	JP-19

Municipal flags[]

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

References[]