Prefectural Flags
Each modern prefecture has a unique flag, most often a bicolor geometric highly stylized design (mon), often incorporating the letters of Japanese writing system. A distinct feature of these flags is that they use a palette of colors 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 | Stylized 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 | Stylized katakana of ア (a), the first syllable of Akita. | |
| Aomori | JP-02 | Stylized map of the prefecture. | |
| Chiba | JP-12 | Stylized katakana of チバ (Chiba). Blue stands for hope and progress, yellow for prefecture flower rapeseed blossoms. | |
| 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 | Stylized katakana of フクイ (Fukui). The emblem stands for harmony and cooperation of people. | |
| Fukuoka | JP-40 | Stylized hiragana of ふく (fuku). It also represents ume (plum), the prefectural flower. | |
| Fukushima | JP-07 | Stylized hiragana of ふ (fu). | |
| Gifu | JP-21 | Stylized kanji 岐 (gi). The emblem expresses peace and harmony. The green stands for the nature of Gifu. | |
| Gunma | JP-10 | Stylized 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 7-point 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 stylized 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 stylized form of its name in kanji, 石川 (Ishikawa). It also represents the stylized map of the prefecture. | |
| Iwate | JP-03 | Stylized kanji of 岩 (iwa) which symbolizes advanced progress. | |
| Kagawa | JP-37 | Stylized and slightly rotated katakana of カ (ka). It also represents mountains, as well as olive leaves, the prefectural tree. | |
| Kagoshima | JP-46 | Stylized map of the prefecture, with Sakurajima in the center. | |
| Karafuto | N/A | Stylized 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 | Stylized kanji of 神 (ka). The Japanese national colours were chosen due to the Yokohama sea port, long used as a primary gateway into Japan, being located within the prefecture. | |
| Kōchi | JP-39 | Stylized 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 | Stylized katakana of ク (ku). It also represents the stylized 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 | Stylized hiragana of み (mi). It also represents miyaginohagi (lespedeza), the prefectural flower. | |
| Miyazaki | JP-45 | Stylized katakana of ミ (mi). | |
| Nagano | JP-20 | Orange flag with white mon symbol closer to the hoist. The mon is a stylized katakana of ナ (na). It also represents mountains mirrored on a lake. | |
| Nagasaki | JP-42 | Stylized 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 | Stylized katakana of ナ (na). | |
| Niigata | JP-15 | The symbol on the top is a stylized kanji 新 (nii) of Niigata, while the left half of the circle is a stylized katakana for ガ (ga) and the right, タ (ta). | |
| OitaŌita | JP-44 | Three stylized 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. | |
| Osaka | JP-27 | The blue stands for cleanness, freshness and intelligence and also represents the sky and sea due to Osaka city having an airport and seaport. The blue also represents Osaka'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 | Stylized katakana of シガ (Shiga). The circle in the center represents Lake Biwa. | |
| Shimane | JP-32 | Four stylized katakana of マ (ma). In Japanese, "four" is shi. | |
| Shizuoka | JP-22 | Stylized 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 | Stylized kanji of 栃 (tochi) and kanji 木 (gi) with three arrows. The flag represents improvement and active motion. | |
| Tokushima | JP-36 | Stylized 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. | |
| Stylized letter T. 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 | Stylized 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 | Stylized 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 | Stylized kanji of 山 (yama) in the center of Mount Fuji. Purple represents the grape, a popular product of Yamanashi. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Japanese Flags
Famous quotes containing the word flags:
“Gentlemen, those confederate flags and our national standard are what has made this union great. In what other country could a man who fought against you be permitted to serve as judge over you, be permitted to run for reelection and bespeak your suffrage on Tuesday next at the poles.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)