Nichinan (Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan)

Nichinan ( 46,150 inhabitants on 1 March 2000; ) is located in the south of the prefecture of Miyazaki, on the Gulf of Hyuga. The scenic coast around Nichina forms the Regional Park of the Nichinan Coast (Nichinan Kaigan Kokutei Kôen). The temple of Udo is located on the coast; it is dedicated to the mythic father of the first Japanese emperor and is said to have been built by the tenth emperor, Sujin (second half of the IVth century). Kempo, a kind of Japanese fencing, is said to have been invented in the temple.

The village of Obi, today part of Nichina, was a domain owned by the Ito family from 1588 to 1868. When the shogunate system was suppressed, the last Ito shogun was appointed governor by the emperor The historic buildings, that is the Main Gate (Otemon, suppressed in 1870 and rebuilt in 1978 with the famous Obi cypresses), the Lord's Manor (Matsuo no Maru, also restored with Obi cypresses), the school (Shintokudo, built in 1831) and the soldiers' houses are nicknamed "The Little Kyoto of Kyushu".

The most famous student of the Obi school was the diplomat Jutaro Komura (1855-1911). Komura then studied at the Nanko University in Tokyo and at Harvard. Back to Japan, he became Vice Minister of the Foreign Affairs and Delegate Minister for the USA, Russia and Chine. In 1901, he was appointed Minister of the Foreign Affairs; in 1905, he led the Japanese delegation that negotiated in Portsmouth (New Hampshire, USA) the peace with Russia. Appointed again Minister of the Foreign Affairs in 1908, he obtained the revision of the commercial treaties signed at the end of the feudal period with the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, which was the beginning of the internationalisation of Japan. Komura was made Baron and then Marquess. Oddly enough, the town has an emblem, adopted on 20 December 1950, that is not used on the flag. The emblem is made of a roundel formed by two red rings separated by a white ring, symbolizing the sun, in Japanese "nichi", with four points symbolizing the four villages merged into the town of Nichita.

Source: City of Nichinan
Ivan Sache, 9 March 2007

According to the municipal website , the flag was adopted on March 1st 1980.

Cerulean blue two stripes mean sky and sea. White represents peace. Fire-red of the emblem symbolizes passion of the citizen. Emblem is stylized nichi of nich-nan in kanji and stands for unity and harmony.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 14 October 2005