埼玉県 (Saitama)
Flag
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Flag
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Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県, Saitama-ken) flies a white flag bearing a red emblem of sixteen magatama (comma-shaped ornamental beads) arranged in a circle — a design adopted in 1964 that plays visually on the origin of the prefecture’s own name. This prefectural emblem should not be confused with the separate, newer emblem of Saitama City, the prefectural capital created only in 2001 and named after the prefecture it sits within.
| Prefecture | Saitama (埼玉県, Saitama-ken) |
|---|---|
| Type | Ken (県) — ordinary prefecture |
| Region | Kantō |
| Capital | Saitama City (formed 2001 from Urawa, Ōmiya, and Yono) |
| Established | 14 November 1871 (haihan-chiken); reached present-day borders in 1876 after absorbing the former Iruma Prefecture |
| Emblem (mon) | 16 magatama beads, red on white, arranged in a circle; adopted 1 September 1964 (Notification No. 652) |
| Official tree | Keyaki (Japanese zelkova) |
| Official flower | Sakurasō (Japanese primrose, Primula sieboldii) |
| Official bird | Shirakobato (Eurasian collared dove) |
Flag of Saitama Prefecture — White field, red circle of sixteen magatama beads, adopted 1964
The flag of Saitama Prefecture is a white field bearing the prefecture’s red emblem (県章, kenshō): sixteen magatama — comma-shaped beads that were prized as ornaments in ancient Japan — arranged evenly around a circle. The Saitama Prefectural Government describes the circular arrangement as symbolising the “sun, development, passion, and strength” of the prefecture.
The emblem is widely described as a type of canting design: one traditional explanation of the prefecture’s name traces “Saitama” to an older term sakitama or sakimitama (幸魂), in which the syllable tama can also be written with the character for “jewel” or “bead” (玉). Because magatama beads are closely associated with this reading of tama, the Prefectural Government’s own explanatory material links the choice of motif directly to the origin of the prefecture’s name.
The emblem and its companion flag were formally adopted together on 1 September 1964, by Prefectural Notification No. 652. This is a purely prefectural-level decision: it long predates the establishment of Saitama City, and it has no connection to that city’s own, separately designed emblem.
Saitama Prefecture and its capital, Saitama City, are easy to conflate because they share a name, but they are distinct administrative entities with distinct symbols. The prefecture itself traces back to the 1871 abolition of the han system (haihan-chiken), reaching its modern borders in 1876 after the surrounding Iruma Prefecture was absorbed into it. The city of Saitama, by contrast, is a much younger creation: it was formed only in 2001 by merging the cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, and Yono, and was named after the prefecture it serves as capital of. The city government maintains its own municipal emblem and flag, separate from the prefectural emblem described on this page.
A white field with a red emblem: sixteen magatama beads arranged in a circle, said by the Prefectural Government to represent the sun, development, passion, and strength.
No. Saitama Prefecture and Saitama City are separate administrative bodies that happen to share a name. The prefectural emblem shown here dates to 1964, decades before the city existed; Saitama City, created in 2001, uses its own distinct municipal emblem.
The emblem and flag were adopted together on 1 September 1964, under Prefectural Notification No. 652.
The design is generally understood as a canting (name-referencing) emblem: it plays on an etymology of “Saitama” linked to sakimitama, in which tama can mean “jewel” or “bead” — making the magatama motif a visual pun on the prefecture’s own name.
Last reviewed by the Emblema Mundi editorial team on 2026-07-04.