1. How Flags Helped People Tell Which Country a Ship Belonged To
How could people tell which country a distant ship belonged to? In an era without photos or radios, the flag raised on a ship was the first clue. While the exact beginning of flags is unclear, they have long been used as markers to instantly show "whose group this is." In the ancient Roman army, a vexillum was a marker with cloth on a crossbar at the tip of a spear. In medieval Europe, the coats of arms of knights and nobles were drawn on flags, helping to identify which unit belonged to whom [1]. During the Age of Exploration, ships are thought to have begun raising flags to indicate their country. There are records stating that in the 16th century, ships from England and Scotland raised flags showing their country of origin [1][2].
2. How Japan's Hinomaru Began as a Flag for Ships
The Hinomaru was not a national flag from the very beginning. In 1854, the Edo shogunate designated the Hinomaru as the flag for Japanese ships to distinguish them from foreign vessels [3]. It was a marker to show "this is a Japanese ship" at sea. In 1870 (Meiji 3), it was officially established as the national flag for merchant ships for the first time under the "Merchant Ship Regulations" [3]. This overlaps with the story in Section 1 that flags began as ship markers. The red circle represents the sun. It is explained that this is linked to Japan being east of China and calling itself the "Land of the Rising Sun," as well as the association of the sun with Amaterasu, the ancestral deity of the Imperial family [5]. However, the origin is described as "said to be," and there is no single confirmed story. The flag was written into law in the 1999 "Act on National Flag and Anthem" [4]. A statement by the Prime Minister at the time noted that the law clarified the basis for a custom that was already well established. The law also states the flag’s dimensions: the height is two-thirds of the width, and the diameter of the red circle is three-fifths of the height, with the circle centered on the flag [4]. If the height is 10, the width is 15, and the circle’s diameter is 6.
3. Denmark's Dannebrog Flag and the Legend That It Fell from the Sky
A white cross on a red background. Denmark’s flag is called the Dannebrog. A well-known legend says it fell from the sky during a battle in 1219 [6]. However, scholars debate how historically reliable this legend is. The oldest confirmed colored illustration is from the "Gelre Armorial" around 1340–1370, where it is depicted as the flag of the Danish king [6]. The Dannebrog is sometimes called the "oldest national flag still in use." However, sources vary on the starting point: some cite 1219, while Guinness records cite 1625, so it is better to avoid stating definitively that it has been used for "over 800 years." This cross design was inherited, in altered forms, by the flags of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. The Christian cross was adopted in each flag, at different times [6].
4. Nepal's Flag: The Only National Flag That Is Not Rectangular
Nepal’s flag is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular. It is also said to be the only one where the height is longer than the width [7]. The shape consists of two triangular flags (pennants) joined together. The triangles are said to originally represent the Himalayas, but are now understood to represent Hinduism and Buddhism. The crimson color represents the rhododendron, the national flower, and courage, while the blue border represents peace and harmony. The sun and moon are said to symbolize the wish for the country to last as long as the sun and moon [7]. The meanings are not fixed to a single explanation; there are several theories. The current shape was finalized on December 16, 1962, by engineer Shankar Nath Rimal at the request of King Mahendra [7]. Before this, the sun and moon had human faces on them.
5. Why Arab and African Countries Use Similar Flag Colors
Even in different countries, flag colors can be similar. This represents a feeling of belonging through color. Flags of Arab nations often use black, white, green, and red, known as "Pan-Arab colors." It is said that these four colors appear in a poem by the 14th-century poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli, and were first combined in the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916 [8]. Black is linked to the Caliphate, white to the Umayyad dynasty, green to Islam, and red to the Hashemite family. In Africa, green, yellow, and red spread as "Pan-African colors." It is said that the colors of Ethiopia’s flag, which was not colonized by European powers, influenced other countries’ flags [9]. In sub-Saharan Africa, the first country to adopt the green, yellow, and red color scheme upon independence was Ghana in 1957. The flag was designed by artist Theodosia Okoh. On the Ghanaian flag, red represents people who contributed to independence, gold represents mineral resources, green represents nature’s gifts, such as forests, and the black star represents African freedom and unity [10].
6. The Five Principles of a Good Flag Design, Including Whether a Child Can Draw It
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) published a guide called "Good Flag, Bad Flag," which lists five principles for flag design [11]. 1) Keep it simple enough that a child can draw it from memory. 2) Use symbols or shapes that relate to what the flag represents. 3) Use 2 to 3 basic colors. 4) Do not include text or seals. 5) Make sure it does not look like other flags, but show connections through similarity. This is not a law for grading national flags, but a guide for making flags. However, if we compare the Hinomaru, the Dannebrog, and Nepal’s flag seen so far using these five principles, we can see which parts are simple and which are unusual.
7. How You Can Investigate Flags Further, Starting with Drawing the Hinomaru
What you can do today: Try drawing the Hinomaru on paper without looking at it. If you make the height 10 cm, the width 15 cm, and the circle’s diameter 6 cm, it will match the official dimensions [4]. Compare your drawing with the real flag to find where it is off; this helps understand the principle that "a child can draw it from memory." Another activity is to look at the flag pages in a globe or atlas and search for color groups. Use your finger to connect countries with green, yellow, and red, or those with black, white, green, and red. For official information, see the Cabinet Secretariat’s "National Flag and Anthem" page [4].