Flags of Japanese prefectures

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Each modern Japanese prefecture has a unique flag, most often a bicolour, geometric, highly stylised design, and often incorporating the characters of the Japanese writing system and resembling minimalistic company logos. [1] The heraldic badges worn by warriors in medieval Japan ( mon ) were forerunners of the modern emblems used in the prefectural flags. [2]

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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.

Flags by prefecture

FlagPrefecture Geocode Date of adoptionDescription
Flag of Aichi Prefecture.svg Aichi JP-23August 15, 1950Stylised hiragana あ ("a") . The emblem also expresses sunrise and wave to indicate Aichi's location facing the Pacific Ocean.
Flag of Akita Prefecture.svg Akita JP-05November 3, 1959Stylized katakana character ア ("a") on a dark red field.
Flag of Aomori Prefecture.svg Aomori JP-02January 1, 1961Stylised map of the prefecture in green on a white field.
Flag of Chiba Prefecture.svg Chiba JP-12July 29, 1963A blue field with チハ ("Chiba") stylized into a rapeseed flower.
Flag of Ehime Prefecture.svg Ehime JP-38May 5, 1952Horizontal tricolor of yellow, green and yellow with an orange blossom.
Flag of Fukui Prefecture.svg Fukui JP-18March 28, 1952A dark blue field charged with a circular emblem consisting of the katakana フクイ ("Fukui") stylized into a young leaf growing next to two other leaves.
Flag of Fukuoka Prefecture.svg Fukuoka JP-40May 10, 1966The hiragana ふく ("fuku") stylized into a plum blossom.
Flag of Fukushima Prefecture.svg Fukushima JP-07October 23, 1968An orange field with the hiragana character ふ ("fu") stylized into a circle toward the hoist side. The slightly off-center placement is said to represent "strength and endless progress". [3] It is also reminiscent of the shape of a peach, as Fukushima is one of the top peach producing regions in Japan. [4]
Flag of Gifu Prefecture.svg Gifu JP-21August 10, 1932A white field charged with a green stylized "岐" ("gi") inside of a green circle.
Flag of Gunma Prefecture.svg Gunma JP-10October 25, 1968A purple field charged with a stylized kanji 群 ("gun") surrounded by three white crescents symbolizing Mt. Akagi, Mt. Haruna and Mt. Myōgi.
Alex K Hiroshima kenki.svg Hiroshima JP-34July 23, 1966Katakana character ヒ ("hi") stylized into two attached circular crescents on a maroon red field.
Flag of Hokkaido Prefecture.svg Hokkaido JP-01May 1, 1967A navy blue field charged with a red 7-pointed star with a thick white fringe around the star.
Flag of Hyogo Prefecture.svg Hyōgo JP-28June 10, 1964Kanji character 兵 ("Hyō") stylized into waves on a light blue field.
Flag of Ibaraki Prefecture.svg Ibaraki JP-08November 13, 1991A white stylized rose bud on a field of indigo.
Flag of Ishikawa Prefecture.svg Ishikawa JP-17October 1, 1972Stylized kanji of 石川 (Ishikawa) on a cerulean blue field.
Flag of Iwate Prefecture.svg Iwate (detail)JP-03March 6, 1965A bluish-gray field charged with the kanji 岩 (iwa) stylized with vertical and horizontal symmetry.
Flag of Kagawa Prefecture.svg Kagawa JP-37October 1, 1977An olive green field charged with a stylized and rotated katakana カ ("ka").
Flag of Kagoshima Prefecture.svg Kagoshima (detail)JP-46March 10, 1967A black horseshoe shape (representing the Satsuma and Osumi Peninsulas) with a small dent on the bottom-right corner of the emblem (representing Shibushi Bay) surrounding a red circle (representing Sakurajima).
Flag of Kanagawa Prefecture.svg Kanagawa JP-14November 4, 1948Stylized Kanji character 神 (the first character from 神奈川 "Kanagawa") in red on a white field.
Flag of Kochi Prefecture.svg Kōchi JP-39April 15, 1953A maroon red field charged with と ("to", from Tosa) and コ ("ko", from Kōchi) stylized into a sword pointing up.
Flag of Kumamoto Prefecture.svg Kumamoto JP-43March 31, 1966A maroon field charged with a white ク ("ku") reminiscent of the shape of Kyushu.
Flag of Kyoto prefecture.svg Kyoto JP-26November 2, 1976A violet field charged with a white 6-petal flower with a yellow dot in its center.
Flag of Mie prefecture.svg Mie JP-24April 20, 1964A green field charged with a white み stylized into an arrow pointing up.
Flag of Miyagi Prefecture.svg Miyagi JP-04July 15, 1966A green field charged with a white み stylized into a bush clover/miyaginohagi.
Flag of Miyazaki Prefecture.svg Miyazaki JP-45December 22, 1964A green field with a yellow ミ ("mi") stylized into three stairs.
Flag of Nagano Prefecture.svg Nagano JP-20March 20, 1967An orange field charged with a white disc consisting of a stylized katakana "ナ" (na).
Flag of Nagasaki Prefecture.svg Nagasaki JP-42August 30, 1991A white field charged with a light blue N stylized into the form of a dove.
Flag of Nara Prefecture.svg Nara JP-29March 1, 1968A white field charged with a maroon ナ ("na") stylized as a circle.
Flag of Niigata Prefecture.svg Niigata JP-15August 23, 1968Red field charged with a gold stylized 新 ("nii") and Katakana characters ガタ ("gata").
Flag of Oita Prefecture.svg

Flag of Oita Prefecture (variant).svg
Ōita JP-44July 24, 1966A white field charged with three red kanji 大 ("ō") stylized and arranged in a circle. The variant has the prefecture's full name in kanji at the bottom-hoist (left) corner.
Flag of Okayama Prefecture.svg Okayama JP-33November 22, 1967A dark purple field charged with a yellow 岡 ("oka") stylized as a circle.
Flag of Okinawa Prefecture.svg Okinawa (detail)JP-47October 13, 1972A white field charged with a white O inside of a red disc.
Flag of Osaka Prefecture.svg Ōsaka JP-27June 21, 1968A blue field charged with three white letter "o"s connected via branches to another "o".
Flag of Saga Prefecture.svg Saga JP-41December 11, 1968A green field charged with a white camphor flower.
Flag of Saitama Prefecture.svg Saitama JP-11September 1, 1964A white field charged with 16 red ornamental beads arranged in a circle. The 玉 ("tama") of "Saitama" means "bead".
Flag of Shiga Prefecture.svg Shiga JP-25September 16, 1968A light blue field charged with a white emblem consisting of シガ ("Shiga") stylized into a circle with wings.
Flag of Shimane Prefecture.svg Shimane JP-32November 8, 1968A dark red field charged with four yellow katakana マ (ma) circularly stylized and arranged into a cloud-shaped circle
Flag of Shizuoka Prefecture.svg Shizuoka JP-22August 26, 1968A blue field with an orange emblem consisting of a stylization of both the map of the prefecture and Mount Fuji. the emblem is thickly fimbriated with white.
Flag of Tochigi Prefecture.svg Tochigi JP-09March 1, 1964A light green field charged with an emblem consisting of the kanji 栃 ("tochi"), heavily stylized. The top-left corner of the emblem is a white rectangle with three upward-pointing arrows, a stylization of the character 木 ("gi").
Flag of Tokushima Prefecture.svg

Flag of Tokushima Prefecture (variant).svg
Tokushima JP-36March 18, 1966A blue field charged with a yellow emblem consisting of the hiragana とく ("toku") stylized into a flying bird. The variant has the prefecture's full name in kanji at the bottom-fly (right) corner.
Flag of Tokyo Prefecture.svg Tokyo (detail)JP-13October 1, 1964A six-rayed stylised sun with a dot in the center. The background color is Edo purple (江戸紫, Edo murasaki), which was popular in Edo, the name of Tokyo during the Edo period. This shade of purple is one of the traditional colors of Japan, and is near-identical to Web Indigo.
Symbol flag of Tokyo.svg September 30, 1989A stylised green Ginkgo biloba leaf. The symbol consists of three arcs combined to resemble a leaf of the ginkgo, the metropolitan tree, and is reminiscent of a "T" for Tokyo. Created by Rei Yoshimura (レイ吉村), a professional graphic designer.
Flag of Tottori Prefecture.svg Tottori JP-31October 23, 1968A blue field charged with a white emblem consisting of the hiragana と ("to") stylized into a flying bird ("tori").
Flag of Toyama Prefecture.svg Toyama JP-16December 27, 1988A white field charged with a green emblem consisting of the hiragana と ("to") stylized together with Mount Tateyama.
Flag of Wakayama Prefecture.svg Wakayama JP-30August 7, 1969A white field charged with a navy blue emblem, consisting of the katakana ワ ("wa") stylized into an open fan.
Flag of Yamagata Prefecture.svg Yamagata JP-06March 26, 1963A blue field charged with three white mountain peaks (possibly stylizations of the kanji for mountain 山, "yama") with a triangular indentation on the bottom of each peak.
Flag of Yamaguchi Prefecture.svg Yamaguchi JP-35September 3, 1962A brown field charged with the kanji 山口 ("Yamaguchi") stylized into a bird flying towards the sun.
Flag of Yamanashi Prefecture.svg Yamanashi JP-19December 1, 1966A magenta field charged with three orange stylized 人 combined to form a 山 ("yama") enclosed by a white trapezoid representing Mount Fuji.


Symbol mark flag

Historical flags

See also

References

  1. "DESIGN IN FLAGS: THE BEAUTY FOUND IN JAPAN'S FLAGS". DESIGN MADE IN JAPAN. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  2. Inglefield, Eric (1984). Flags. Arco Pub. p. 18. ISBN   0-668-06262-2.
  3. "県章・県旗 - 福島県ホームページ". 福島県 (in Japanese). August 31, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  4. 香本, 響太 (June 13, 2024). "【福島県】県旗の"ズレ"なぜ?". NHK福島放送局 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2025.