Ainu flag

An Ainu flag was designed by Bikki Sunazawa, a Japanese sculptor of Ainu ancestry, in 1973.[1][2][3] Bikki's son Jin Sunazawa claims copyright ownership and requests for the disuse of the flag.[4]

Ainu flag
UseOther
Proportion2:3
Adopted1973
DesignBlue field with white figure and red arrow
Designed byBikki Sunazawa

Upon a repeated request from his friend, Bikki Sunazawa eventually designed the flag in 1973 although he distanced himself from political activism seeking government support. Nevertheless, an Ainu group displayed the flag when they marched at a May Day celebration in Sapporo in the same year.[5] On rare occasions, it is still seen at Ainu functions.[6]

Description

The flag's ratio is most likely 2:3. The flag consists of a cerulean blue field standing for sky and sea, a white figure standing for snow, and a red arrow flying beneath Hokkaido's sky.[7] The arrow is red because of the aconite poison used in traditional hunting, a way of life that was banned by the Japanese.[6] The white figure, commonly known as Bikki mon'yō, was not a traditional Ainu motif but Bikki's personal invention.[8]

References
  1. "Independence movements and aspirant peoples (Japan)". Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. "ФЛАГ АЙНОВ". Геральдика.ру (in Russian). geraldika.ru. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  3. Irish, Ann B. (2009). Hokkaido: A History of Ethnic Transition and Development on Japan's Northern Island. McFarland & Company. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-7864-5465-5. OCLC 646854076.
  4. Jin Sunazawa (2 October 2020). "2020 nendo Sapporo Ainu Kyōkai sōkai giansho (mushūsei) to migatte na sakujo irai" 2020年度・札幌アイヌ協会総会議案書 （無修正）と身勝手な削除依頼. Kōshin minzoku Ainu 後進民族 アイヌ. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  5. Weiner, Michael (13 July 2003). Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homogeneity. Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-134-74442-8.
  6. Dubreuil, Chisato (Kitty). "The Ainu and Their Culture: A Critical Twenty-First Century Assessment". The Asia-Pacific Journal. apjjf.org. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. Minahan, James B. (1 August 2016). Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations. ABC-Clio. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-61069-954-9.
  8. Jin Sunazawa (12 October 2020). "Bikki mon'yō wa Ainu mon'yō ni arazu! Hokkaidō Shinbun no sabetsu kiji" ビッキ紋様はアイヌ文様にあらず！北海道新聞の差別記事. Kōshin minzoku Ainu 後進民族 アイヌ. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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