大阪府 (Osaka)
Flag
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Flag
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Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu) flies a blue flag bearing a white prefectural crest built from a stylised Latin letter “O” — for OSAKA, not the Japanese hiragana お — fused with the sennari byōtan (千成瓢箪, “thousand gourds”), the battle crest of warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who built Osaka Castle and founded the city as a merchant hub. Note that Osaka Prefecture, a first-level jurisdiction, and its capital, the city of Osaka, are two separate administrative bodies with two separate official emblems — this page covers only the prefecture’s.
| Prefecture | Osaka (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu) |
|---|---|
| Type | Fu (府) — urban prefecture, shared only with Kyoto |
| Region | Kansai (Kinki) |
| Capital | Osaka City (a separate municipal entity with its own emblem) |
| Established | 21 June 1868, from the former Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi provinces |
| Crest (mon) | White stylised “O” with three rising circles (gourd motif), on blue; crest adopted 21 June 1968 |
| Flag field | Green (1968–1984); blue since 30 March 1984 |
| Official tree | Ginkgo (ichō) |
| Official flowers | Japanese apricot (ume) and Japanese primrose (sakurasō) |
| Official bird | Bull-headed shrike (mozu) |
Flag of Osaka Prefecture — Blue field, white “O” and gourd crest, crest adopted 1968, blue field since 1984
The prefectural crest (府章, fu-shō) of Osaka is built around the Latin letter “O”, the first letter of “OSAKA” in Roman script — it is not a stylisation of the Japanese hiragana character お, a confusion that has occasionally circulated. Three circles of increasing size branch upward from the letter, evoking a cluster of gourds. According to the prefectural government, the design expresses “a bright, prosperous, and liveable Osaka” (明るく・豊かで・住みよい大阪): the three circles stand respectively for hope, prosperity, and harmony, while the whole composition is said to express the “infinite possibilities” arising from the solidarity of all prefectural residents.
Since the flag’s 1984 redesign, the crest appears in white on a blue field. Osaka’s government explains the blue as evoking cleanliness, freshness, and intelligence, and as a nod to Osaka’s identity as an international “water city” (水都) open to sea and sky, threaded by rivers and canals.
The gourd motif behind the crest traces back to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), the warlord who unified much of Japan in the late sixteenth century and built Osaka Castle as his seat of power, laying the foundations of Osaka as a great merchant city. Hideyoshi is traditionally associated with the sennari byōtan (千成瓢箪, “thousand-gourd”) emblem, said to derive from a battle standard hung with golden gourds, with a new gourd reputedly added for each victory. The prefectural crest abstracts this motif into three simple circles rather than depicting literal gourds.
21 June 1968 — the crest was formally established by prefectural notice, on the 100th anniversary of Osaka Prefecture’s founding in 1868, and was initially set on a green flag. On 30 March 1984 (Announcement No. 27), the prefecture adopted its current flag, keeping the same white crest but changing the field to blue.
Because the prefecture and its capital share the same name, it is easy to conflate their symbols. Osaka Prefecture is the broader jurisdiction described on this page, governed from Osaka City. The city of Osaka (Ōsaka-shi), one of Japan’s twenty designated cities, maintains its own separate municipal emblem and flag, distinct from the prefectural crest shown here. Emblema Mundi treats the two as separate entries, each with its own dedicated emblem image.
A blue field with a white crest: a stylised Latin letter “O” with three circles of rising size branching from it, representing hope, prosperity, and harmony.
No. The mark is based on the Latin letter “O” from the Roman-alphabet spelling OSAKA, combined with the sennari byōtan (thousand-gourd) crest linked to Toyotomi Hideyoshi — not on the Japanese hiragana お.
No. Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka, its capital, are separate administrative bodies, each with its own distinct official emblem. This page covers only the prefectural crest and flag.
The crest was established on 21 June 1968, the prefecture’s centennial. It first flew on a green field from 1968, then on the current blue flag adopted 30 March 1984.
Last reviewed by the Emblema Mundi editorial team on 2026-07-04.