[For Seniors] Let’s have fun with a lively three-choice national flag quiz!

black

Each of the three colors of the national flag has its own meaning. Gold represents “gold buttons,” red stands for “epaulettes,” and the black mentioned in the question is said to represent a “cloak.” These meanings are derived from the uniform colors of the German student volunteer corps that fought against Napoleon’s French army in the early 19th century.

Two flags are attached together.

Nepal’s national flag is the only one in the world that isn’t rectangular. The two triangles are said to represent the flag of the most powerful family in Nepal and the flag of the second most powerful family. Each of these families had periods when they unified or ruled Nepal. After the Rana family—the second most powerful—seized real power, they reportedly used a design that combined the two families’ flags.

college student

During the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Mr. Tadamasa Fukiura, who was a university student at the time, was reportedly hired as the world’s “flag coordinator.” Fukiura had been interested in national flags since elementary school, and as a university student he had already published two specialized books on flags. Until then, Japan’s Hinomaru had only been defined as “crimson,” so he visited as many as 500 private homes to survey existing Hinomaru flags. With cooperation from companies and research institutes in addition to Fukiura’s efforts, they calculated an average for the Hinomaru and determined its color.

maple

Canada’s national flag features a white field with red stripes and a red maple leaf. The maple leaf depicted is specifically the sugar maple, also known as the maple leaf. Abundant in Canada and a source of maple sugar, the maple tree is also a national symbol. By the way, the two colors on the flag—red and white—are Canada’s official national colors.

red

The color red is also used in Japan’s national flag, isn’t it? Red evokes feelings of power, courage, and hope. Due to historical background, it also carries a revolutionary image, which is why it appears on national flags. Some flags are said to represent the “blood” shed in wars. Among 150 countries, red can be found on the flags of over 70% of them.

There are countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Southern Cross cannot be observed from most places in Japan, which is in the Northern Hemisphere. However, if you go back to around the Jomon period, it’s said there’s a possibility it could be seen in Japan. Due to Earth’s axial precession, the apparent positions of stars shift. The shift is slight, but over several centuries it exceeds one degree. Therefore, it’s possible that, right on the horizon, the Southern Cross could have been observed in Japan.

Number of states in the United States

The American flag has 50 stars, which are said to represent the number of states. When the United States gained independence from Britain, there were 13 states, so there were 13 stars. After that, as the number of states increased, the number of stars on the flag also increased. The original 13 states are carried on in the 13 red and white stripes of the flag.