Kazutaka Nishiura

Kazutaka Nishiura - Natori - Japan

Family Crest		His Personal Flag		Giffer Flag

     The Family crest (Mon) of the Nishiura family (Maru-ni-Chigai-Kashiwa) consists of crossed oak leaves in a ring. My personal flag depicts my family crest of crossed oak leaves in a sun disk (Hinomaru), and a rice stalk at hoist, the combination of which reads 和 (Kazu), my name in character Kanji. The green color is the symbol color of the Miyagi Prefecture which I live in.

     I was born in Sendai in 1993 and have lived in Natori, Japan. My interest in vexillology began when I was six years old, finding a book about national flags of the world. I am currently a student at the National Institute of Technology (Kosen), and I major in mechanical engineering.

     In 2009, I joined Japanese Vexillological Association (JAVA) and earnestly started to draw the illustrations of flags. I draw mainly Asian flags including Japan. Japanese flags are characterized by being geometric in design and using unique colors. I am dedicated to drawing flags in their exact construction and official color numbers.

     My fields of vexillological interest include national flags, military flags, and various Asian flags. Recently I have researched Japanese and Chinese Imperial flags in ancient times and the history of Japanese military flags (flags of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, and flags of the Japan Self-Defense Forces). As an engineering student, I have been studying the flutter motion of flags with fluid mechanics and the theory of elasticity.

Kazutaka Nishiura, 1 December 2014

Favorite Illustrations:

Kazutaka has more than 375 images on FOTW and does the illustrations for Nozomi Kariyasu's books.
Here are six of his favorite FOTW images.

Japanese Imperial Enthronement Ceremony Flag (Kikkasho Daikinban - white)		Imperial Army Infantry Regimental Color - 1874 (revised on April 9, 1917)
Tokyo Fire Department Flag (Tokyo, Japan)		Nepal National Flag - 1928 (Historical Nepalese flag)
Flag of the Sea Guard (Federal Frontier Service - Russia)		Songdown International Boys Camp (Worker's Party Youth Organization - North Korea)

Past Projects and Honors:

• Editor of the JAVA's website.
• Presenter of vexillological research at JAVA's meetings:
1. Maritime flags used by early Japanese navies between 1853 and 1869 - March 2012
2. Regimental colors of the Imperial Japanese Army - August 2012
3. Changes of the Japanese Imperial standard after 1870 - September 2014

Contact Information

• The e-mail address of this illustrator is: vexillologist1870@gmail.com
• His Facebook address is: https://www.facebook.com/kazutaka.nishiura