Japan’s distinctive flag is a visualisation of the country’s name, the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’. According to legend, the sun was the ancestor of the imperial dynasty, and it is one of the oldest heraldic devices, having been used by the Japanese emperors for at least 600 years, and possibly for more than 1000 years. The national flag is the Hi no maru, or Sun Disc, and features a red sun on a plain white field. The present form of the flag was officially accepted on August 5, 1854, when Japan kick-started its commercial and diplomatic relations with countries in Europe.