Ainu flag


The Ainu flag is the flag chosen by the Ainu people to represent the Ainu nation in Northern Japan. The flag was designed by Bikki Sunazawa in 1973 when the Ainu began reclaiming their identity as a cultural group in the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually in 1997, the Japanese government officially recognized the Ainu as an indigenous and minority people and gave them rights to their language and culture.

Description

The flag's ratio is most likely 2:3. The flag consists of the cerulean blue field standing for sky and sea, the white figure standing for snow, and the red arrow flying beneath Hokkaido's sky. The arrow is red because of the aconite poison used in traditional hunting, a way of life that was banned by the Japanese.