Flag of Saitama
Officially Saitama Prefecture
Locally Saitama-ken · 埼玉県
What the flag looks like
A ring of sixteen red curved jewels (magatama) on a white field.
What it means
The magatama, ancient comma-shaped jewels, stand for sakimitama, the blessing spirit the name Saitama is said to come from; their ring stands for the sun, growth and passion.
How to remember it
Saitama's
red ring on white is sixteen magatama jewels, and the 玉 (tama) in Saitama means "jewel".
Fun facts
- The capital, Saitama City, is written in hiragana (さいたま) rather than kanji.
- The Sakitama Kofun burial mounds gave the prefecture its name.
Saitama at a glance
- Type
- Prefecture (ken)
- Island
- Honshū
- Capital
- Saitama
- Region
- Kantō
- Population
- 7.3 million
- Area
- 3,798 km²
- Languages
- Japanese
- Currency
- Japanese yen (¥)
- Flag adopted
- 1964
Flags often confused with Saitama
- Oita: Saitama and Oita both have a red ring on white. Saitama's ring is sixteen comma-shaped jewels; Oita's is three 大 characters with arms linked.