Flag of Chisei

The Four Nations Flag (Chiseian Yashiman: 四族旗 Yonzokuhata) is the of Chisei.

At it's core the flag is based on the Royal Standard of Chisei, formerly the Royal Standard of Chisei, which features a black of three cranes over a lone rose on a yellow field. Roses have been an emblem associated with Chisei and in particular Chiseian Yashimans since long before the Yaoyorozuō period, while cranes are a common symbol of the Royal House of Chisei and are also commonly associated with grace and longevity. Variations of the Rose mon were used by the Chisei state and it's nobility since at least the 9th century CE. During the Takeshima Restoration of the 1590s the Grand Queen Meishutora adopted a banner of three flying from the branches of a golden rosebush; the combination of the symbols had mythological significance, as the sky goddess Aoamegen'nyo, the patron deity of the Crown, was traditionally depicted driving the sun across the sky in a war-chariot of wildflowers pulled by cranes and flying serpents.

The subsequent heavy use of the Crane and Rose symbolism, as well as the yellow flag itself, in military iconography promoted an association between the Royal Standard and Chisei as a state. By the late 17th century a yellow flag, with or without the royal kamon, was established as a symbol of Chiseian merchants and envoys. By 1720 the Royal Standard was widely seen as the national flag. However, it's strong associations to the Yashiman people remained, even as the issue of proto-nationalist sentiments began to arise in the non-Yashiman parts of Chisei. In 1746 the Grand Queen Tenshōri hosted a Royal banquet to which all the leading Princes Provincial of the country had been invited; as part of her efforts to create a pluralist state identity, she commissioned a number of decorative flags for the event, ordering that 'we should humbly aim to unite all the myriad, disparate peoples of our realm under this banner'.

The subsequent design, known as the Tenshōri Flag, featured four strips: blue for Saramosir, white for Uranuur, red for Hashino and finally black for Chisei. The design proved immensely popular with the delegates, and was later used in numerous other Royal functions, including coronations. The black strip representing Chisei was replaced with yellow for the coronation ceremony of Grand Queen Nakamichirō in 1804.

In 1813, for the coronation of the Grand King Tenantei yet another new flag was commissioned by the Court, which combined the 1804 flag with the Royal Standard to create the modern vertical version of the design, which is used to this day. It was also around this point that the name Yonzokuhata began to catch on, and the great popularity of Tenantei as monarch in turn boosted the popularity of the combined design. In 1822 a horizontal version of the flag was developed, initially for the Royal Yacht of Chisei, before it was declared the official international of Chisei, replacing the Royal standard. Two versions of the flag proliferated; the original 1822 jack, with the standard at the hoist, and a variant with the standard in the center, as in the original coronation flag, which caught on in the Chiseian Royal Army, and was subsequently given official status as a National symbol in 1860 with the Four Nations Flag Act. The act, as well as enshrining the central standard design, established nationwide regulations for it's use and design. No official guidelines were ever published for it's size however; proportions of 5:3 in the horizontal configuration or 1:3 vertically were established by the mid-1930s as unofficial standards through convention, though plenty of variation continues to exist. The 1822 design remains in use with the Chiseian Royal Navy and the Royal Yacht, though it's civilian use has been superseded by the Yellow ensign, introduced in 1925.