{"id":7494,"date":"2026-06-05T16:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T07:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/?p=7494"},"modified":"2026-06-07T19:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:32:18","slug":"faq-what-is-the-history-of-waseda-universitys-emblem-and-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/other-en\/2026\/06\/05\/7494\/","title":{"rendered":"[FAQ] What Is the History of Waseda University\u2019s Emblem and Flag?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The university flag is a long streamer-style flag with tassel decorations, featuring the university emblem embroidered in the center.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

According to Episodes of Waseda University: 125 Stories<\/i><\/span><\/a> (1990), pp. 7\u20139, the history of the university emblem and flag can be summarized as follows:<\/p>\n

Waseda University\u2019s emblem originated as a badge worn on students\u2019 caps. The badge design was officially established in 1902, the 20th anniversary of the university\u2019s founding, together with the student uniform and cap. In 1906, it was redesigned into the form that became the basis of the current emblem: the two characters for \u201cuniversity\u201d placed above a rice leaf. However, after many years of use, variations emerged in the lettering style and the shape of the leaf. To commemorate the university\u2019s 100th<\/sup> anniversary, the design was standardized into its present form and protected through trademark registration.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Waseda University Photo Database (Genban Shashin), B065-01, \u201cStudents Wearing the First Square Caps (brimless square caps; vertically elongated cap badge).\u201d Estimated to date from around 1902.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

The university flag, on the other hand, was created in 1913, the 30th<\/sup> anniversary of the university\u2019s founding. It was conceived by TACHIBANA Seiji and designed by KON Wajiro. At the anniversary ceremony, faculty members marched behind the university flag, which reportedly attracted considerable attention. This procession subsequently became a university tradition. The original flag from that period, however, no longer survives. The third-generation flag currently in use was newly commissioned for the university\u2019s 100th<\/sup> anniversary.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Waseda University Photo Database (Genban Shashin), B102-18, \u201cImperial Gift Memorial Hall, VIP Room 4 (University Flag, Baseball Club Banner, and Other Pennants).\u201d Since the photograph is believed to have been taken in 1923, the flag in the center may be the first-generation university flag.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please note that the Waseda University History Museum does not provide services such as research assistance, document decipherment, authentication, appraisal, or search support. If you would like to learn about the services offered by the museum, please refer to Instructions for Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Episodes of Waseda University: 125 Stories (1990), pp. 7\u20139, the history of the university emblem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[94,78,76],"class_list":["post-7494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-en","tag-general-en","tag-history-en","tag-outreach-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7502,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7494\/revisions\/7502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}