Three red rings joined together on a white field: each is the kanji 大 of “Oita”, and together they mean trust, work and friendship.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular field with a 7:10 ratio, white and plain, with three linked red rings in the centre: it is the only figure on the field.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
It did not start from nothing: Oita already had a coat of arms of its own since 1911
The prefecture approved the flag on 24 July 1956 by official notification of the local government
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Oita is a white field with three linked red rings. Each ring is the character 大 (dai, “big”) drawn in a circle: it is the first syllable of Oita, written in Japanese as 大分. It is the symbol of this prefecture of Kyushu, in the south of Japan.
The prefecture approved the flag on 24 July 1956 by official notification of the local government. It did not start from nothing: Oita already had a coat of arms of its own since 1911, of a different design, which is still used today.
The design has not changed since 1956.
This is the prefecture’s official explanation:
Three red 大
each one symbolises trust, work and friendship.
Linked rings
the three of them, holding hands, form a circle that speaks of peace, fullness and collaboration.
Rising sun
the whole evokes a sunrise over the sea, the impetus with which Oita wants to grow.
Red and white
the red is the sincerity of the neighbourhood; the white ground, peace and equality.
There are two officially valid versions: the plain one and another with the name of the prefecture written on the field. Only Nagasaki does the same.
The coat of arms of Oita was approved on 5 October 1911, more than forty years before the flag, and has never been changed.
The flag measures 7 units high by 10 wide, an unusual ratio.
Test what you have read about the flag of Oita.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Guilherme Paula, Mike Rohsopht, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
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