Okay here is my attempt.
Japanese Army War Flag
Universe 29-TL-SUN-1097 has an interesting POD in that the divergence starts with a fire and the small supply of red paint, resulting in a bit of an optical illusion.
The flag of Japan, the rising sun, had symbolic meaning since the early 600s starting in the Asuka period. As the Japanese islands are east of the Asian mainland, the sun "rises" from the east. In 607 CE, an official correspondence that began with "from the Emperor of the rising sun" was sent to Chinese Emperor Yang of Sui. Japan is often referred to as "the land of the rising sun".
A well-known variant of the flag of Japan sun disc design is the sun disc with 16 red rays in a
Siemens star formation. The Rising Sun Flag has been used as a traditional national symbol of Japan since the early 1600 Edo period. The Army war flag was adopted in 1870 and the naval flag a few years later. While the Army’s flag had the sun in the center with the rays emanating out, the Navy’s flag would place the sun closer to the lanyard or flag pole.
Just prior to the Satsuma Rebellion a fire had erupt in one of the supply depots that the army had set up. In order to not lose honor men were ordered to quickly find any available white fabric and red paint in order to recreate the Army war flags that had been lost in the fire. While several flags were painted to standard, about a quarter of the way through the available cloth, the men realized there was not enough red paint. It was decided to just place the sixteen red rays of the sun on the flag in order to create as many flags as needed. It was during the
Battle of Tabaruzaka that the flags were first used in large numbers. The optical blur of the
Seimen’s rays on the flag caused many to see a square in the center of the flag when at a distance from the flag. After the Imperial army was victorious in the battle, the “square sun” began to be painted onto several of the flags, lacking the circle, as a good sign of victory and good luck.
Flag: The Japanese Army War flag with the square sun would be official adopted in 1910. The square was associated with the Earth and the physical world in many cultures and also represented a sense of stability. As a square is made up of straight lines it is seen as rigid and unbreakable, leading to stability and a strong foundation. The connection of the square with the four cardinal points of the compass enhanced the connection of the “square sun” to the “circular sun” of the Imperial flag.
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