The National Color

This poster was posted on the official Instagram account of Prada. This promotional material was a promotional design with the theme of travel. This seemingly ordinary video was made with the theme of travel, but what became a problem was the shape of the sun in the video. The sun was drawn in a radial pattern extending outward from the center. This symbolizes Japan’s Rising of the Sun. Korean netizens point out that it is not red like the rising sun flag, but the shape is reminiscent of the rising sun flag.

So, what is the Rising Sun Flag? Many foreigners do not know about the Rising Sun Flag and purchase products just by looking at the pattern. The Rising Sun Flag (旭日旗, Kyokujitsu-ki) is a Japanese flag that consists of a red disc and sixteen red rays emanating from the disc. Like the Japanese national flag, the Rising Sun Flag symbolizes the sun. The flag was originally used by feudal warlords in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868 CE).

The Rising Sun Flag was the flag used by Japan during World War II. With Nazi Germany’s Hakenkreuz, it is a symbol of aggressive aggression. Prada previously released clothes reminiscent of the Rising Sun Flag in 2014. Korean netizens strongly raised the issue, but Prada did not show a much different reaction.

The Rising Sun Flag is a flag with a clan inscription embodying the sunlight spreading around the sun. The clan is a traditional pattern that has been used in Japan for a long time to pray for the crest of a samurai family or a good harvest for fishing boats. Because it is a symbol of The name of the Rising Sun Flag also contains the idea of Japanese imperialism, which ‘builds an empire with the momentum of the rising of the morning sun.’

During World War II, the Japanese Navy held a welcome ceremony for the crew of German U-boats who entered the Japanese Naval Base in Penang, Malaysia. Both are symbols of the navy.
Source: News Top (http://www.newstof.com)

The Rising Sun Flag is a ‘war criminal flag’ made and used by war criminals like the Hakenkreuz, a hooked cross symbolizing Nazi Germany. However, in contrast to Germany’s thorough ban on using Hakenkreuz by repenting of its past wars, Japan has been using the Rising Sun Flag without reflecting on its history of war and aggression. The Rising Sun flag is the flag of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and is widely used for cheering flags for sports events and marketing popular culture products.

It is also a problem that Japan, which caused war and caused great damage to the world’s people, continues to use the Rising Sun flag without historical remorse, but the bigger problem is that even Korea, the biggest victim, does not know why this is a problem. Considering that people have lived through the harsh times due to the Japanese occupation and still live with the pain without proper compensation or apology, it would be impossible to dare to use or defend the Rising Sun Flag, a criminal war flag. The use of the Rising Sun Flag is ignorance of history, and this cannot be excused.