Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Japanese Flag
After doing some research, I was wondering why there are 2 flags for the Japanese flag and which flag would the grandfather had been hanging on the clothesline. I found out the the flag is a big red ball in the center of a white background...But I was curious as to why the graffiti boards were showing a ball with the rays coming out. I discovered that this was a symbol of Japan's military force. So which flag would grandpa have been hanging?
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ReplyDeleteI thought it would be the plain one with the singular red dot (sun), but the book does mention rays coming out. Strange. What would a civilian be doing with a military version?
ReplyDeleteMy theory would be that Westerners (the author) thought this flag version is/was more common.
Maybe it is because Japan at the time was a militaristic run government. The military was everywhere and so consequentially the military version was seen and used more often. The regular red dot on a white background probably wasn't fully utilized till after the war, during Japan's time of peace. Maybe, Grandpa was formerly in the military. Could explain his disciplined perspective and dour disposition. Tomi did say he was highly respected in Japan before he left. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteGrandpa was a fisherman from a port town in Wakayama.
ReplyDeleteMost Japanese immigrants moved away from Japan to escape poverty, find their fortunes and/or avoid going into the emperor's army.
On page 108, and 210, there are some inconsistencies. The flag is described as a (red and) white cloth with no mention of the rays.