Last modified: 2025-05-17 by 
zachary harden
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![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_rk-st.gif)
image by Jaume Ollé
(click on image for larger view)
As I could not find any document or drawings of Ryukyu Dynasty national flag, I asked a National University of the Ryukyus historical researcher whether the Ryukyu Dynasty actually had a national flag that was also used on land but I was unable to obtain their confirmation. It is a fact that even in mainland Japan at that time the concept of a national flag did not exist and only the flag of the clan existed.
The white flag charged with red,blue and yellow three-color comma design that appeared in “The Flag Book of the United States” by Whitney Smith in 1970 and “Ryukyu Kokki no Tomoe-Hata” by Kinjo Tadahito, Okinawan in 1981 apparently did not exist, but it seems that the flag was invented as the national flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom by the Okinawa independence faction after World War II.
Japanese family emblems are always expressed in a single color. It is certainly unnatural for the family emblem of the Ryukyu Sho royal family, the three-comma design, to be divided into three different colors. On the other hand, Ryukyu, which actively traded with China and the Satsuma clan of Japan used several types of ship flags depicting the Sho dynasty's family emblem, three-comma design (both right-facing and left-facing) which was found in some documents.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
Does the orientation of comma-shapes mean anything? Had this been
European heraldry, clockwise and counterclockwise oriented mon would
make two distinctive blazons. What's with the Japanese heraldry
regarding that?
(And while we are at it, what is the Japanese word for heraldry? Are
there two names for European and Japanese heraldries, or are they
considered a single art/science with a single name?)
Also regarding the 1854 picture: the bottom leftmost flag is very
similar to the one presented here: but the field is green in the attached picture (also possibly scaled
black - too small image for me to see it clearly).
Each of the flags in that small chart seems to be accompanied with a
short text, probably telling what the flag is. Care to translate that
for us all?
Tomislav Todorovic, 30 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp-tomoe.jpg)
image located by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
We call comma shaped design as Tomoe in Japan.
The distinction between left and right in terms of the direction of rotation of the tomoe comes from the fact that the left tomoe was painted on the surface of drums placed at the left end of the hall used for ceremonies in the Heian period, while the right tomoe was painted on drums placed at the right end to indicate the position of the drums.
There is no other special meaning.
Tomoe is one of the traditional Japanese patterns in the shape of a comma or a slender ball, or a general term for a pattern using Tomoe. It is also called tomoe-mon. It is also used as a family emblem, an emblem of a deity, a temple emblem, etc., and is also painted on taiko drums, eaves round tiles, etc.
The “tomoe” pattern came from the continent. The origin of the name in Japan is said to be derived from the tomoe (鞆絵) used to shoot a bow, and the original of the pattern is said to be a tomoe (鞆絵), a representation of lightning, or a design of a gradient ball, among other theories.
The Chinese character for “Tomoe,” originally a hieroglyphic character representing a person lying on his or her stomach, was applied to the pattern because of its similarity in shape. Because of its connection to water, the Tomoe pattern was applied to eaves round tiles on buildings in the late Heian period as a fire protection. Heraldry is called Monshogaku 紋章学 in Japan.
Japanese heraldry basically deals with Japanese family emblems
( There are approximately 20,000 kinds of traditional family emblems
available in Japan)
In the meanwhile Western heraldry deals with
what has a very different shapes from the designs of
Japanese family emblems. Yes two images look very similar.
Actually this is not a flag but a streamer that winds inside.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 30 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_ryenb.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
blue vertical long banner with a white Sho dynasty family emblem
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
![[vertical ensign]](../images/j/jp_ryen7.gif)
image by Eugene Ipavec, 6 October 2006
A vertical black ensign with Ryukyu Sho Dynasty family crest, which are three white "comma-shaped" designs.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 6 October 2006
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_ryenw.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
a white vertical long banner with a black family emblem and two horizontal black stripes were found from a 1609 document
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_ryeng.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
A white vertical long banner with black family emblem, two black horizontal stripes, and gray zigzag lines was found.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_ryenr.gif)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
A white horizontally long flag with black family emblem and black-red-black horizontal stripes at the bottom was found.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_1789chosi.jpg)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
a painting of a ship drifting off the coast of Choshi, Chiba Prefecture in 1789.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
![[Ryukyu Dynasty]](../images/j/jp_ryen54.jpg)
image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025
1854 document.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2025