Flag of Hokkaido

The Hokkaido Development Commission used a flag with a red five-pointed star on a blue background, which came to be known as the Hokushin Flag. This design was initially used as a flag on official ships of the commission by Suejiro Ebiko, who served as the captain of the commission's official ship. It was eventually adopted as the de facto emblem of the Development Commission, and was officially adopted in February 1872.^[1]

Flag of the Hokkaido Development Commission (1872-1878)

Kuroda Kiyotaka's rejected proposal for the flag of the Hokkaido Development Commission

In September 1872, Kuroda Kiyotaka, then Vice-Minister of Development, requested the government to change the design of the Hokushin flag from a red five-pointed star to a seven-pointed star but this proposal was rejected. Subsequently, in 1878, the Development Commission ceased flying the Hokushin flag, and it was abolished in 1882. During the period of the era of three prefectures and one bureau [ja] of Nemuro, Sapporo, and Hakodate, and the era of the former Hokkaido Government after these three prefectures were reintegrated, no specific flags or emblems were created.^[2]

In the 1960s, as other prefectures successively established their prefectural flags, there was growing momentum to establish a Hokkaido flag in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Hokkaido in 1968. As part of the Hokkaido Centennial Project [ja], several art organizations active within Hokkaido were commissioned to create designs. From over 7,500 submitted design proposals, the Hokkaido Flag and Hokkaido Emblem Establishment Committee selected a design. On March 31, 1967, they decided to adopt a proposal jointly developed by Kenichi Kuritani and instructors from the Hokkaido Design Institute, which he represented.^[3] It was officially established on May 1 by Hokkaido Announcement No. 775, 'Hokkaido Emblem and Hokkaido Flag.'^[4] Additionally, in 1992, to clarify the identity of the Hokkaido Government Office, a logo mark for the government office featuring the emblem as a motif was established as the 'Hokkaido Government Basic Design.