9781422275528

The flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner with a                              single red disc in the center. The flag, officially known                              as Nisshōki, or “the sun-mark flag,” is more                              commonly known in Japan as Hinomaru, or “the circle of the sun.” The country’s nickname, the land of the Rising Sun, suits this flag aptly. Japanese mythology and religion symbolize the emperor as a direct descendant of the sun goddess, which points to the significance of this symbolic flag. The Nisshōki flag became the national flag in the law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem, which was only recently made effective in August 1999. Prior to this, the country did not have a national flag specified, but the sun-disc flag was already used regularly by nationals. In the Meiji Period, two proclamations made by the Daijō-kan, that era’s governing body, created a provision for one of the designs used at that time as the national flag. The Nisshōki flag was used by merchant ships starting in February of 1870, and by the Navy in October of 1870.

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