Flag of Akita

The flag of Akita is a wine-red field, a reddish brown, with the syllable ア in white in the centre, drawn with a quick stroke.

How it came about

Akita is a prefecture in northern Japan, in the Tōhoku region. The flag was approved on 3 November 1959.

The emblem is the work of a person who won the 1950 competition with a false name and was never identified. That quick stroke is what distinguishes the letter: it is not a clean typeface but a living stroke.

How it has changed

It has never changed. It was approved in 1959 and there are no documented later modifications.

What it means

• Wine red

  the colour of the field, with no divisions. It is the dark red that in Japan is distinguished from bright red.

• Katakana ア

  the first syllable of Akita, in white, centred and with a quick stroke.

• No coat of arms

  no coat of arms or any other figure.

• Mounting

  by rule it is flown from its right side.

Fun facts

1. Nobody ever knew who made the flag

   The emblem of Akita was the winner of a competition, and the winner submitted a false name. They were never identified. It is a rare case among Japanese prefectural flags, where the designer and the date are normally known.

2. A letter drawn, not a letter written

   The emblem is the syllable ア in a fast, decisive stroke, not a piece of printing. It is the difference between writing the letter and drawing it as a figure: the character keeps its sound function but takes the shape of an emblem.

3. Wine red, not red

   The background is described as wine red, a reddish brown. In Japanese nomenclature dark red has a name of its own, and flags usually specify the tone precisely because the colour does an identifying job.

Location