^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Houseflags of Japanese shipping companies

These house flags from a ships directory chart published by the Japanese government and appearing in the brochure/book Fune to Hata (Ships and Flags) published by the Nihon Maru Memorial Foundation in 1994 following an exhibit at the Yokahama Maritime Museum by the same name and during the same year. Photocopies of the charts were provided by Nozomi Kariyasu for these images.. Three charts are devoted to Japanese flags.

The images in the photocopies are small, therefore only 34 are either not repeated or are of enough clarity to allow their representation. In some instances, the location of objects on the flag are the best approximation available.
Phil Nelson, 11 February 2002

Uda Tomoshiro
Ukon Gonsaemon
Uwajima Unyu K.K.
Watanabe Masajiro
Yamagata Yusaburo
Yoshida Saburoemon

See also:

Uda Tomoshiro

by Phil Nelson

Ukon Gonsaemon

by Phil Nelson

Uwajima Unyu K.K.

by Phil Nelson

A white flag with something black in the center that I could bet hard to be a kanji character. It looks a lot like the chinese character yu (宇).

The Uwajima Unyu seems to have a website and apparently operates ferries between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. More to the point, if you scroll down the page, you'll see what must be the current flag of this company: a red-white-red horizontal triband with a wide white band and a black character in the center.
Jorge Candieas, 4 July 2006

See also: image from Flags, Funnels and Hull Colours, (1963)

Watanabe Masajiro

by Phil Nelson

Similar to Akita Kisen K.K. except the image shows slightly smaller discs.

Yamagata Yusaburo

by Phil Nelson

Yoshida Saburoemon

by Phil Nelson

The flag is white with a red kanji character horizontally centered, but shifted to the top, which looks suspiciously like the character 吉).
Jorge Candeias, 13 July 2006

This character is the "yoshi" of the surname/place name Yoshida 吉田, so it would make sense.
Jonathan Dixon, 15 July 2006