Samurai are still very respectable and important figures, so as the Tokyo Olympics approach, a content producer is hoping to spark greater understanding between nations with anime characters wearing traditional Japanese clothing.

Flags of countries revised as samurai for Olympics

Author: SaiKaiAngel | Source: The Japan Times

Kama Yamamoto along with other artists launched World Flags in 2018 with the idea of helping people around the world become familiar with their cultures in a fun way and says, “I want the project to be recognised globally as something that can unite the world through anime and samurai.”

Yamamoto’s idea is to use characters in samurai or traditional Japanese clothing to illustrate different nations, their flags and increase interest in Japan.

Here are some examples:
the Peruvian character Vargas is depicted as a ninja in red and white carrying a leaf-shaped kunai and, in the case of Chile, the condor, which is the national bird, is perched on the shoulder of a samurai, while the Canadian character wears a red and white kimono with a maple leaf on its sleeve.

Yamada says a lot of work is underway to get the initiative officially recognised by the Tokyo Games organisers.

Yamamoto’s background is in educational personification books; he has drawn manga characters to represent jobs ranging from tapioca shop owners to web designers. The books are aimed at children and include information on average salaries and what it entails to better inform children about the choices available to them when they grow up.

photo credits: The Japan Times 

The educational purpose remains with World Flags.

There were about 80 characters on the website at the beginning of December, according to marketing producer at Digital Entertainment Asset Hiroshi Tsuruoka. The site is regularly updated with new personified flags.

Characters are introduced on the project’s official Twitter page as soon as they are ready. With over 15,000 followers, the page also boasts fan art posted by those inspired by the characters.

However, characters can undergo both physical and “personality” changes in line with advice or criticism from people around the world, helping them to become more suited to the country concerned.

In one case, the Spanish flag, whose character is called Iniesta, was initially portrayed as a bullfighter, but was later transformed into a flamenco dancer following criticism that bullfighting was a controversial topic in the country.

The project got what Yamada called its first “big break” in the summer of 2019, when the Chinese flag depicting Aaron was widely shared online. Yamamoto soon began receiving interview offers from Chinese media, along with offers to create a range of merchandise e.g. mouse pads that are currently available online.

The characters are illustrated by a group of artists brought on board by Yamamoto, many from his previous projects.

“Some of the illustrations are by full-time artists, but others are drawn by people ranging from housewives to vets who draw as a hobby,” he says. The flags are assigned by Yamamoto, who brainstorms a rough idea of the character design, to individual artists based on their illustration styles.

photo credits: The Japan Times 

While Yamamoto works to finish personifying all the countries, a number of people from smaller nations have expressed delight at finding their respective flags in samurai form.

Some, including Mexico and Venezuela, have even received framed images of their personified flags at their respective embassies in Tokyo.

“We believe that an anime-style character representing Mexico can be an ideal way to convey the long-standing friendship that exists between the Mexican and Japanese people,” Emmanuel Trinidad, the cultural affairs adviser at the Mexican embassy in Tokyo, said in an email.

“Every comment received about it on social media seems to praise the fact that the work goes beyond any stereotypical image and instead presents a fresh and more modern approach to the characters representing the countries in general.”

The project was first published as a book last year, with illustrations of the characters and information ranging from national demographics to the number of Olympic medals won by the nation in question.

They would also like to turn it into an anime or superhero movie in the future, with the characters joining forces to fight an enemy to save the world.

“The story will not have a protagonist, and all the characters will work together for a common goal,” says Yamada.

Yamamoto initially hoped to complete the project in 2020 ahead of the Olympic Games before they were postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Now he is aiming to present around 200 personified flags by the end of this year. will he be able to achieve his goal of uniting countries with Japan? we are sure he will. Let’s look forward to it and enjoy these works in the meantime!