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''Hinomaru'', or "circle of the sun," refers to both the red sun design of the Japanese national flag, and the flag itself, in much the same way as "Stars and Stripes" is used to refer to the flag of the United States.

''Hinomaru'', or "circle of the sun," refers to both the red sun design of the Japanese national flag, and the flag itself, in much the same way as "Stars and Stripes" is used to refer to the flag of the United States.

[[Shimazu Nariakira]] is credited with being the first to suggest such a design for a national flag, having initially proposed using such a design on Japanese ships, so as to display the ship's nationality and to distinguish it from the vessels of foreign countries.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Reimeikan Museum]] of History and Culture, Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref>

[[Shimazu Nariakira]] is credited with being the first to suggest such a design for a national flag, having initially proposed using such a design on Japanese ships, so as to display the ship's nationality and to distinguish it from the vessels of foreign countries.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Reimeikan Museum]] of History and Culture, Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref> The [[Tokugawa shogunate]] agreed to this proposal, ordering it be put into effect in [[1854]]; the [[Meiji government]] then continued the practice, officially declaring the ''hinomaru'' design the official national flag in [[1870]]. However, historian [[Takashi Fujitani]] suggests that it took some time for the association of the design with the nation, and with the Emperor, to become widely and firmly fixed among the Japanese people. For some time in the early Meiji period, rather, many people likely associated the "rising sun" iconography with, simply, auspiciousness or auspicious occasions. Though it was displayed prominently during Imperial tours and visits to the various [[provinces]] of the realm, this represented only the beginning of the establishment of the ''hinomaru'' as a national and Imperial symbol in the minds of the people.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', UC Press (1998), 51-52.</ref>

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