Badposter rates every country flag

Flag of Japan (also known as the Nisshōki (日章旗, sun-mark flag) or the Hinomaru (日の丸, circle of the sun)
800px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png

Ratio: 2:3
Adopted: 27 February 1870 (as civil ensign). Flag slightly changed and adopted as national flag on 13 August 1999.
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw this flag from memory, especially if they had a compass.
Rule 2: The first known ocasssion of Japan being associated with the rising sun happened on a letter sent in 607 from Prince Shōtoku of Japan to Emperor Yang of China, in whic the prince called himself "the Son of Heaven in the land where the sun rises " (in the same letter, he called the emperor "the Son of Heaven in the land where the sun sets". The emperor saw this as insolence). The first known flag with a sun in Japan is in the Unpo-ji temple Kōshū and dates from before the 16th century. (According to legend it was given to the temple by the Emperor Go-Reizei during the 11th century. It's just a legend, though.) The sun is an important symbol in Japan, given that Nihon and Nippon (Japan's names in Japan) mean "the sun's origin" and that the Emperor of Japan is said to descend from the sun goddess, Amaterasu.
After Commodore Matthew Perry ended Japan's isolationism Japanese ships were ordered to fly this flag to distinguish them from the ships of other countries. In 1870 the Hinomaru was adopted as Japan's flag. In 1885, however, it was decreed that any law not published in Official Gazette of Japan would be abolished. The law establishing Japan's flag was one of those laws, so technically Japan had no flag from 1885 to 1999, though most people considered the Hinomaru Japan's flag during that time.
During the times of the Japanese Empire the Hinomaru was used as a nationalist symbol (though it was never officially adopted). In a 1934 propaganda film all flags were portrayed as flawed except Japan's, which was perfect. In 1937 girls from the Hiroshima Prefecture ate a "flag meal", consisting of an umeboshi in a bed of rice, to show their support for Japan in the Sino-Japanese War. Displaying the flag was seen as the sign of being a "good Japanese". The places occupied by Japan in East and Southeast Asia, like Taiwan, Korea or Manchukuo (and other places) the Hinomaru had to be used. The Hinomaru was seen as the "Rising Sun flag that would light the darkness of the entire world.".
Japan would join the Axis in WWII. They would lose and be occuppied by the United States. At first, the flag could only be flown with the consent of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. In 1947 the flag was permitted to be used on the National Diet buliding, the Emperor's palace, the Prime Minister's residence and the Supreme Court. In 1948 the flag was allowed to be flown by people on national holidays, and in 1949 all restrictions on the use on the flag were abolished.
After the war the Hinomaru (and Japan's national antem) became controversial, with some associating it with militarism and the Japanese Empire. After a dispute in a high school in Sera, Hiroshima over the use of the Hinomaru in the school, the school's principal committed suicide. This led to a vote in 1999 over the Act on National Flag and Anthem. Japan's ruling conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party supported the passing of the Act, as did the conservative Komeito party, while the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party opposed it. The Democratic Party, a centrist party which was the main opposition party, was split. The bill was passed on 22 July 1999 an came into effect on 13 August of that year. Note that before the passing of the Act the sun in the flag was passed one-hundredth towards the hoist (the par closest to the mast), but after the Act was passed the sun is now in dead center.
Rule 3: Red and white. Good colors.
Rule 4: The sun is a pretty simple emblem.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to that of Bangladesh (which has a sun) and that of Palau (which has a moon), but all of those flags have colors that make them distinctive.
Part 2
Japan had no flag before the adoption of the Hinomaru.
Wikipedia said:
While the idea of national symbols was strange to the Japanese, the Meiji Government needed them to communicate with the outside world
Click to expand...
The flag change in 1999 was extremely minor, so I'm not putting the 1870-1999 flag here.
Part 3
A very simple flag that is also distinctive. Good flag.
 
Northern Verve said:
I thought there was a point where the flag included Sun rays?

Granted mainly in Military use, not general national use, but even now the Self-Defense force uses a variant of the rising sun version. So I thought that'd be something you'd mention anyway.
Click to expand...
I'm not mentioning naval ensigns or war flags (unless the flag is the origin of the national flag, like Sardinia's war flag later became their national flag.) Well, I think design-wise it's not bad. The Japanaese naval ensign is pretty unpopular in China and Korea, which maked a lot of sense, given the association of the flag with the Japanese Empire.
.
Flag of Jordan
800px-Flag_of_Jordan.svg.png

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 18 April 1928 (small change in 1939)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw the flag from memory. I don't know if they could memorize the exact number of points in the star, but recognizability is more important than perfection.
Rule 2: First, the meaning of the Pan-Arab colors:
My Egypt writeup said:
Basically, there are two set of Pan-Arab colors: the most used set uses red, black, green and white. These colors were first used in the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and each color represented an Arab dynasty: black represented the Abbasids, white the Ummayads, green the Fatimids and red the Hashemites.
The other set uses red, white and black and is derived from the Arab Liberation Flag, which was used in the 1952 Egyptian Revolution which overthrew the country's monarchy.
Click to expand...
The land that is now Jordan was part of the Syria Vilayet and the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, both part of the Ottoman Empire, during the late 19th century and the early 20th century, before WWI. In 1918 the area that is now Jordan was split between the south of Syria and the north of Hejaz. What is now Jordan was not mentioned in the San Remo conference in 1920. In the Cairo conference in 1921 it was agreed that Abdullah bin al-Hussein, the younger brother of Ali bin Hussein, future king of Hejaz (the current king was his father) and the older brother of Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi, former king of Syria and future King of Iraq, would become the Emir of Transjordan, an autonomous area of (British) Mandatory Palestine east of the Jordan River which wouldn't have Jewish settlement. Transjordan was so autonomus that Palestine and Transjordan were often considered two different mandates.
In 1928 the Emirate of Transjordan became mostly independent, though the British controlled foreign affairs and some financial affairs, and kept a military presence. That year Transjordan adopted a flag based of that of the Arab Revolt, with a seven-pointed star representing Arab unity. Some say the star represent the seven verses of the Quran's first surah (chapter) or the seven hills on which Amman, Jordan's capital, was built on. Some also say the sevn points represent faith in one God, humanity, humility, national spirit, virtue, social justice, and aspiration.
In 1939 a small change was made on the flag: the chevron (the triangle) became bigger.
When Transjordan became fully independent, and became the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan on 25 May in 1946, its flag didn't change.
In 1949 Transjordan changed its name to Jordan.
Rule 3: Red, black, white and green. The Pan-arab colors. Not bad colors, but I don't like them.
Rule 4: The seven-pointed star is simple, imo.
Rule 5: This flag is pretty similar to Palestine's (though this flag is older than Palestine's), the only difference that Palestine's flag has no star and a smaller chevron. Also, I really can't find most Pan-Arab flags distinctive.
Part 2
Emirate of Transjordan (1928-1939)
800px-Flag_of_the_Emirate_of_Transjordan.svg.png
Yeah, the change in 1939 was pretty small.
Part 3
I don't really like Pan-Arab flags, though they're probably not actually bad.
 
Flag of Kazakhstan
800px-Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg.png

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 4 June 1992 (less than a year after Kazakh independence on 16 December 1991)
Part 1
Rule 1: I don't think a child could draw the pattern from memory, nor do I think they could draw the eagle from memory. I think the child could draw the sun from memory, though not with the exact same number of points. But recognizabilty is more important than perfection.
Rule 2: Kazakhstan was the very last country to leave the Soviet Union, even later than Russia (which means that from 12 December to 16 December 1991 the Soviet Union was just Kazakhstan). Interestingly enough, when Kazakhstan became independent at first they hadn't made a new flag, its flag remaining that of the Kazakh SSR until 4 June 1992, when this flag was adopted.
The pattern is called "koshkar-muiz" (horns of the ram) and symbolizes the art and culture of the khanate and the Kazakh people. The light blue stand for the country's Turkic people, like Kazakhs (63.1% of the country's population), Uzbeks (2.9%), Uyghurs (1.4%) Tatars (1.3%) or Kyrgyz (0.2%) (interestingly, this flag doesn't represent Kazakhstan's non-Turkic minorities, like Russians (23.7%, the country's biggest minority) or Ukrainians (2.1%), nor the Germans, Chechens and Koreans deported to Kazakhstan under Stalinism, and their descendants), and symbolizes cultural and ethic unity, peace, freedom, the endless sky and the sea (Kazakhstan is landlocked, but it does border the Caspian Sea and it also has some lakes, including the unfortunately shrinking Aral Sea :(). The sun, source of life and energy, symbolizes wealth and plenitude. It has 32 rays similar to grain, representing wealth and prosperity.
According to Wikipedia and aboutkazakhstan.com the eagle appeared in the flag of various Kazakh tribes in the past, and represents freedom, independence and flight to the future.
Rule 3: Light blue and yellow. Nice.
Rule 4: The sun is simple. I'm on the fence on whether the eagle is simple or not, but the pattern is definetly complex.
Rule 5: This flag, as it is now, is distinctive. I think if the pattern and eagle were removed it'd be too similar to Palau's, however.
Part 2
Alash Autonomy (unrecognized) (1917-1920)
800px-Flag_of_the_Alash_Autonomy.svg.png
Good flag, though I think it's too similar to Turkey's.
Kazakh SSR (1937-1940)
800px-Flag_of_Kazakh_SSR_%281937-1940%29.svg.png
Early Soviet flags tended to have text. This is bad.
Kazakh SSR (1940-1953)
800px-Flag_of_Kazakh_SSR_%281940-1953%29.svg.png
Same as above.
Kazakh SSR (1953-1991), Republic of Kazakhstan (1991-1992)
800px-Flag_of_the_Kazakh_SSR.svg.png
Adding blue or green stripes to flags was a big trend in SSR in the 1950s
Part 3
I'd remove the pattern, but keep the eagle to make the flag distinctive from Palau's.
 
Flag of Kenya
800px-Flag_of_Kenya.svg.png

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 12 December 1963 (Kenyan independence)
Part 1
Rule 1: I don't think the shield is that complex, but I could be wrong on this.
Rule 2: I'm being kinda dishonest when I say that Ethiopia's colors are the Pan-African colors. Sure, they're the most used set of Pan-African colors, but they're not the only set. The other set of Pan-African colors is based on the Pan-African flag designed and adopted by the Universal Negro Improvemennt Association in 1920. In that flag, the red represented the blood shed for liberation, the black representing Africans and people of African descent and the green the natural wealth of Africa.
A flag based on the Pan-African one would be adopted by the Kenyan African National Union,a political party which led Kenyan independence and dominated Kenyan politics until their electoral defeat (nowadays they've gone into decline, having only 6 out of 349 seats in the National Assembly and only 3 out of 67 seats in the Senate). Kenya's flag is based on that of the Kenya National Afrca Union.
In Kenya's flag the black represents Kenyans, the red the blood shed during independence (Kenyan independence was peaceful, but the Mau Mau uprising,which ended five years before Kenyan independence was bloody), the green symbolizes the counry's landscape and natural wealth and the white represents peace and honesty. The Maasai shield (which is interesting, considering the Maasai are only around 850 thousand of Kenya's 45 million people)and the spears represent the defense of all that the flag symbolizes.
Rule 3: Black, white red and green. The small white stripes are fimbrations, which are small stripes that are in the flag to prevent it from breaking the rule of tincture. By the way, I prefer this set of colors to that of Ethiopia's flag
Rule 4: This flag has a shield, though I think it's a simple one. I don't like the spears though.
Rule 5: I find all flags using this set of Pan-African colors.
Part 2
East Africa Protectorate (1895-1920), Colony of Kenya (1920-1963) Protectorate of Kenya (a 10-mile (16 km) coastal strip officially under the sovereignty of the Sultan of Zanzibar and leased to the British, which had the same administration as the Colony of Kenya)
800px-Flag_of_British_East_Africa.svg.png
The British Empire was very big and very bad at making flags.
Part 3
A good flag, but I'd remove the spears.
 
Flag of Kiribati
800px-Flag_of_Kiribati.svg.png

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 12 July 1979 (Kiribati's independence=
Part 1
Rule 1: I don't know if a child could draw the exact number of waves or rays of the sun from memory. Also I don't think a child could draw the bird from memory.
Rule 2: This flag's origins come from the flag of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Ellice Islands, after independence, would become Tuvalu, while Kiribati is what was once the Gilbert Islands. In fact, the name Kiribati comes from a local pronunciation of Gilberts. (In Gilbertese, Kiribati's main language, "ti" is used to represent an "s" sound, so Kiribati is actually prononunce Kiribas, and Kiritimati, an island in Kiribati also known as Christmas Island, is pronounce Kirismas, close to Christmas)).
The British colonial flag, like most British colonial flags, had an Union Jack on the canton, and a coat of arms on the bottom left. The coat of arms would be pretty similar to Kiribati's current flag.
The three white stripes represent Kiribati's three main island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands. The waves represent the Pacific Ocean. The sun represents Kiribati's position in both sides of the Equator (Kiribati is in fact the only country to be in all 4 hemispheres), and has 17 rays, which represent the 16 Gilbert Islands plus Banaba Island (note that the Phoenix and Line Islands are not represented.). The frigatebird symbolizes command of the sea, power, freedom and Kiribati cultural dance patterns.
Rule 3: Red, yellow, white, and blue. I don't think the flag has amazing colors but they're not bad either.
Rule 4: I tested whether the sun and frigatebird are simple by drawing (not from memory, I was looking at Wikipedia's page for the flag). I could draw the sun, but not the frigatebird (lol my drawing skills). So I think the Sun's simple, but the frigatebird isn't.
Rule 5: This flag, despite being unique among country flags (I know no other country which currently exists and has waves on its flag), is actually similar to those of Greater London and the Company of Scotland . (Founded in 1695, defunct in 1700. It attemped to colonize part of Panama, and was funded with between 25% and 50% of Scotland's money. Its colonization attempt failed miserably, which was a cause of the Acts of Union 1707, which united England and Scotland.) However, Kiribati's flag is different enough from the two other flags for me to think it's distinctive.
Part 2
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (protectorate in 1892, colony in 1916, flag adopted in 1937, colony split between Gilbert and Ellice Islands the first day of 1976), Gilbert Islands (1976-1979)
800px-Flag_of_Gilbert_and_Ellice_Islands.svg.png
It's a British colonial flag. You probably already know I dislike British colonial flag.
Part 3
I think this flag would be better without the frigatebird.