The largest lake in Japan with wings: the white emblem of Shiga on a blue ground is the katakana of its name flying over Lake Biwa.
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 2:3 ratio in light blue, with a white figure in the centre.
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.
First it created the emblem, official on 3 May 1957
It has never changed: the flag approved in 1968 is still identical
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Shiga is light blue with a white figure that looks like a letter about to fly. And it is: the emblem turns the katakana シ (shi), the initial syllable of Shiga, into a lake with wings. The lake is, of course, Lake Biwa.
The prefecture did things by parts. First it created the emblem, official on 3 May 1957, and eleven years later, on 16 September 1968, it approved the flag: a light blue field with the white emblem in the centre. The explanation holds that the rounded part of the sign represents Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, and that the wings express harmony and progress.
It has never changed: the flag approved in 1968 is still identical.
Rounded shape
Lake Biwa, which occupies the centre of the prefecture; it is the official interpretation.
Wings
the harmony and progress of Shiga, according to the emblem’s official explanation.
Katakana シ
the syllable the name begins with, the basis of the whole drawing.
Light blue
the colour of the lake; the white emblem stands out against it.
Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, lies entirely within Shiga.
Lake Biwa is estimated to be more than four million years old: it is one of the thirteen oldest lakes in the world.
The drawing was born in 1957, eleven years before the flag existed: that of 1968 simply put it on a blue field.
Test what you have read about the flag of Shiga.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Mike Rohsopht, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
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