Flag of Tokyo

overview of the symbols of Tokyo

The city of Tokyo has two official flags, featuring each emblem.

Flag of Tokyo
Proportion2:3
AdoptedOctober 1, 1964
DesignA white Metropolitan Crest on an Edo purple background.
Designed byHiromoto Watanabe (emblem)

Metropolitan crest

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The Crest of the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都紋章, Tōkyō-to Monshō) was adopted on November 2, 1943, under the Metropolitan Announcement No. 464 (告示第464号). It is same as the crest of the former Tokyo City, decided by the city council in December 1889. It is believed to be designed by Hiromoto Watanabe (渡辺洪基, Watanabe Hiromoto), an alderman of the city.

The crest shows a six-rayed sun (which, as a red-filled circle without rays or a dot, is in the center of the national flag of Japan), with a dot in the center representing Tokyo as the metaphorical center of Japan. As with most other prefectural crests in Japan, its color is not designated. The crest can also be interpreted as a version of the kanji (kyō) of 東京 (Tokyo), but the metropolitan announcement does not explain as such.

As a flag

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The Flag of the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都旗, Tōkyō-to-ki) was adopted on October 1, 1964, under the Metropolitan Announcement No. 1042 (告示第1042号). It features a white Metropolitan Crest on center. The background color is Edo purple (江戸紫, Edo murasaki), which was popular in Edo, the name of Tokyo during the Edo period. This shade of purple is one of the traditional colors of Japan, and is near identical to Web Indigo.

Metropolitan symbol

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The Symbol of the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都のシンボルマーク, Tōkyō-to no Shinboru Māku) was adopted on June 1, 1989, under the Metropolitan Announcement No. 577 (告示第577号).

The design was selected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symbol Selection Committee (東京都シンボルマーク選考委員会) from 20 candidates. The winning design was created by Rei Yoshimura (レイ吉村), a professional graphic designer.

The vivid green symbol consists of three arcs combined to resemble a leaf of the ginkgo, the metropolitan tree, and represents T for Tokyo.[1]

Other flags

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References

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  1. "Tokyo's Symbols - Tokyo Metropolitan Government". Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2013-02-18., retrieved on September 29, 2008; reconfirmed on February 18, 2013

Other websites

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