According to tradition, the sun goddess Amaterasu founded Japan in the 7th century bc and was an ancestor of the first of its emperors, Jimmu. Even today the emperor is known as the “Son of the Sun,” and a popular name for the country is “Land of the Rising Sun.” The first concrete evidence that testifies to use of a sun flag for Japan dates from 1184, but there are oral traditions going back centuries earlier.
The current form of the flag was officially adopted on August 5, 1854, when Japan was beginning to open up to commerce and diplomatic relations with European countries. Its use on land was only slowly accepted by the general population; the principal use of the flag in its early days was to represent ships and the diplomatic service of Japan abroad. (Naval vessels were granted a special version, with a smaller, off-centre sun from which rays extended prominently to the edges of the flag.) Specifications for the flag were issued in 1870.
Because the Japanese have a deep philosophical approach to graphic designs of all kinds, they value their national flag for its simplicity, striking contrasts, and appropriate symbolism. The “hot” red of the sun symbol contrasts with its “cool” white background, and the circle of the sun contrasts with the rectangle of the flag itself. The pole on which it is to be officially hoisted is rough natural bamboo, while the finial at the top is a shiny gold ball. To regularize flag laws dating from the 19th century, the Diet (Japanese parliament) formally adopted the national flag on August 13, 1999. The national anthem (“Kimigayo”) was given official recognition at the same time. The Diet’s action was a controversial one, supported in Japan by conservatives but denounced by pacifists, who argued that the symbols inappropriately recalled Japan’s militaristic past and its involvement in World War II.