Flag of Kagoshima Prefecture

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Flag of Kagoshima Prefecture. The flag’s proportions are 2:3 and it has a white field with a centered black and red emblem that represents Kagoshima’s topography. The black part looks like an inverted horseshoe and stands for the Satsuma and Ōsumi Peninsulas, with a small dent on the right for Shibushi Bay. Inside the black shape is a red circle representing Sakurajima, Japan’s most active volcano. Some people criticize the flag for not showing the islands to the west and southwest of Kyushu.

The emblem (鹿児島県章) was created through a public competition and adopted on 10 March 1967 to foster prefectural identity. It symbolizes growth and the passion, harmony, and unity of Kagoshima’s people. The design features a black inverted horseshoe enclosing a red circle, with the right-side dent representing Shibushi Bay.

On 16 March 1994, Kagoshima also adopted a separate prefectural symbol mark: a stylized blue “K” whose top and bottom curves symbolize winds and waves, expressing the prefecture’s dynamism and progress.

In the late 1990s, some officials proposed replacing the emblem and updating the flag, but the plan was not pursued because many residents felt attached to the emblem.

In 2009, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata carried a flag bearing the symbol on the Space Shuttle Discovery.