{"id":2459,"date":"2020-04-13T13:58:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T04:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/?p=2459"},"modified":"2020-04-13T14:59:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T05:59:23","slug":"interview-with-mr-tadamasa-fukiura-the-national-flag-expert-who-will-be-serving-at-his-fourth-olympic-and-paralympic-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/news-en\/2020\/04\/13\/2459\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Mr. Tadamasa Fukiura, the national flag expert who will be serving at his fourth Olympic and Paralympic Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Ninety-four\u00a0<\/span>countries and regions from around the world\u00a0<\/span>participated in the<\/span>\u00a01964<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Tokyo Oly<\/span>mpic Games.\u00a0<\/span>It was a major event<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0drew the nation\u00a0<\/span>together<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>unveiled the valiant aspect of a Japan that had\u00a0<\/span>accomplished its\u00a0<\/span>postwar<\/span>\u00a0reconstruction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>One of the<\/span>\u00a0most important jobs\u00a0<\/span>for this event\u00a0<\/span>was\u00a0<\/span>to take charge of\u00a0<\/span>the national flags\u00a0<\/span>of all the participating countries, from\u00a0<\/span>preparing the\u00a0<\/span>specification<\/span>\u00a0sheets<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>the raising and lowering of the flags<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Mr. Tadamasa\u00a0Fuki<\/span>u<\/span>ra, who was then a student\u00a0<\/span>at\u00a0<\/span>Waseda\u00a0University,\u00a0<\/span>was tasked with\u00a0<\/span>this responsibility.\u00a0<\/span>His\u00a0<\/span>role and\u00a0<\/span>activities\u00a0<\/span>were\u00a0<\/span>captured<\/span>\u00a0in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>much talked-about<\/span>\u00a0NHK\u00a0<\/span>period drama last year titled \u201c<\/span>Idaten<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0<\/span>Story of the Tokyo Olympics<\/span>,\u201d featuring actor Ren Sudo as\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>youthful\u00a0<\/span>Mr.\u00a0Fuk<\/span>i<\/span>u<\/span>ra<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Thereafter,\u00a0<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>was once again assigned\u00a0<\/span>important jobs at the Olympics held in Sapporo and Nagano.\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0an advis<\/span>e<\/span>r<\/span>\u00a0in the International\u00a0<\/span>Relation and NOC\/NPC Services\u00a0<\/span>Bureau\u00a0<\/span>for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,\u00a0<\/span>Mr.\u00a0Fukiu<\/span>ra\u00a0<\/span>now provides support\u00a0<\/span>for the various tasks related to\u00a0<\/span>the national flags\u00a0<\/span>for the upcoming Games.\u00a0<\/span>On March 24,\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0Waseda\u00a0University Alumni Association\u00a0<\/span>held a<\/span>n awards ceremony for the<\/span>\u00a0Tokonsho, which commends\u00a0<\/span>and honor\u00a0<\/span>alumni\u00a0<\/span>members who have made significant contributions to\u00a0<\/span>alumni activities.\u00a0<\/span>Mr.\u00a0Fukiura\u00a0<\/span>was presented with the\u00a0<\/span>Special\u00a0<\/span>Award as an alumn<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>se activities<\/span>\u00a0have left a profound impression on society.\u00a0<\/span>On this occasion, we spoke to\u00a0<\/span>Mr.\u00a0Fukiura\u00a0<\/span>on\u00a0<\/span>the difficulties\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>episodes he experienced\u00a0<\/span>in his work in the Olympic Games,<\/span>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<\/span>the love and interest that he continues to hold for national flags even at the age of 79.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span><\/b>n exceptional promotion!\u00a0<\/span><\/b>S<\/span><\/b>elected to take charge of the national flags at the Olympic Games\u00a0<\/span><\/b>while<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>still a sophomore at university<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

On a certain day two years before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games were due to be held,\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u00a0was suddenly\u00a0<\/span>summoned by the\u00a0<\/span>organizing committee of the\u00a0<\/span>Games.\u00a0<\/span>As an elementary\u00a0<\/span>school student, I had been interested in national flags<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>continued to\u00a0<\/span>learn about them after that.\u00a0<\/span>By the time I was a sophomore at university, I had already<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>published two books about\u00a0<\/span>national flags.\u00a0<\/span>Apparently, w<\/span>hen\u00a0<\/span>the organizing committee\u00a0<\/span>inquired with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,<\/span>\u00a0the Japanese Red Cross Society<\/span>, and UNESCO about a person who\u00a0<\/span>is very knowledgeable about national flags,\u00a0<\/span>the only name that\u00a0<\/span>came up was \u201cFukiura.\u201d That was how I came to be summoned by the committee.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next day,\u00a0<\/span>a car marked with\u00a0<\/span>the numbers \u201c1964\u201d in black arrived at the gates of\u00a0Waseda\u00a0University to bring me to\u00a0<\/span>the office of the organizing committee.<\/span>\u00a0There, I\u00a0<\/span>found Mr. Masaji Tabata, the<\/span>n the President of the\u00a0<\/span>organizing committee, waiting for me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Then, o<\/span>ut of the blue,\u00a0<\/span>I was\u00a0<\/span>asked\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Which\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0the countr<\/span>ies\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>have<\/span>\u00a0flag<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>carrying<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Union Jack?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0At the cheeky age of 20, I\u00a0<\/span>thought that it would be uninteresting to\u00a0<\/span>name the famous countries such as Australia and New Zealand, so I\u00a0<\/span>answered\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Barbados,\u00a0<\/span>Bermuda, Bahamas,\u00a0<\/span>Northern Rhodesia,\u00a0<\/span>Hong Kong\u2026<\/span>\u201d,\u00a0<\/span>list<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0one by one<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>in alphabetical order<\/span>, the\u00a0<\/span>names of the countries with national flags that carry the\u00a0<\/span>Union Jack.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s enough,<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>understand that you are very knowledgeable about national flags<\/span>,\u201d he told me, and then said, \u201c<\/span>Mr.\u00a0Fukiura, it is your job to\u00a0<\/span>ensure that the correct flag is raised in the correct manner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>I was hired on the spot<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/b>he difficulty of\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201cproducing the correct national flags\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The organizing committee soon began on the work of producing the national flags of all participating countries. I think the idea of \u201cproducing national flags\u201d may seem strange to some people. However, there are countries with clearly defined rules about their national flags, as well as countries that have not established any legislation concerning their national flags. Furthermore, the aspect ratio of the flags\u00a0<\/span>varies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from country to country<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In the Olympic Games,\u00a0<\/span>the rule is that all national flags must be of the same size<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>making it necessary to make adjustments to\u00a0<\/span>the aspect ratios.\u00a0<\/span>Hence, my first job was to\u00a0<\/span>prepare the drawings,\u00a0<\/span>compile the specification sheets, and place the orders.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among all the flags, I\u00a0<\/span>experienced<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>particular difficulties with the\u00a0<\/span>Japanese flag.\u00a0<\/span>At the time,\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>shade of red used for the rising sun in the flag\u00a0<\/span>was designated as \u201ccrimson,\u201d but\u00a0<\/span>there were no clear<\/span>ly defined rules\u00a0<\/span>for elements such as<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>brightness<\/span>, tone, and\u00a0<\/span>saturation\u00a0<\/span>of the color.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Hence,<\/span>\u00a0in cooperation with\u00a0<\/span>the Japan Color Research Institute and\u00a0<\/span>the research laboratory of Shiseido,\u00a0<\/span>which\u00a0<\/span>had prod<\/span>uced about 2,000 different colors<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>lipstick at the time,\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u00a0visited\u00a0<\/span>about 500\u00a0<\/span>homes<\/span>\u00a0in the community<\/span>\u00a0and derived the average\u00a0<\/span>value for the \u201ccrimson\u201d\u00a0<\/span>in the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rising sun motif\u00a0<\/span>used by\u00a0<\/span>ordinary homes.\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>color<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that we settled on\u00a0<\/span>through this process was eventually\u00a0<\/span>adopted as the\u00a0<\/span>shade of red for the rising sun motif.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also\u00a0<\/span>went through<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>great diffic<\/span>ulties in verifying\u00a0<\/span>details with the participating countries.<\/span>\u00a0This is because we could not\u00a0<\/span>communicate easily through e-mail as we do today<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>We would send out the samples through airmail, and\u00a0<\/span>wait several weeks for the verification\u00a0<\/span>to arrive<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>followed by another round of verification\u2026 and so on, and so forth.\u00a0<\/span>This was the tedious process that we\u00a0<\/span>had to go through.<\/span>\u00a0The country that left a strong impression on me was Ireland.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Perhaps<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it has a highly sensitive national trait<\/span>; in any case,\u00a0<\/span>it was very particular about the\u00a0<\/span>three colors of green, white, and orange, and\u00a0<\/span>sent over\u00a0<\/span>two flags with\u00a0<\/span>different hues, requesting us to\u00a0<\/span>produce a flag<\/span>\u00a0with\u00a0<\/span>hues\u00a0<\/span>that were in between the two<\/span>\u00a0samples they had sent.\u00a0<\/span>In the end,\u00a0<\/span>after eight exchanges<\/span>, we finally\u00a0<\/span>received their approval four months before the opening of the Games.\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>difficulties we faced in\u00a0<\/span>communicating with the Olympic committees of each country at the time\u00a0<\/span>have been included<\/span>\u00a0in the\u00a0<\/span>moral education textbook<\/span>\u00a0(published by Nihon\u00a0<\/span>Bunkyo\u00a0<\/span>Shuppan)<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>current\u00a0<\/span>sixth graders\u00a0<\/span>in elementary school\u00a0<\/span>for six years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the 196<\/span>4<\/span>\u00a0Tokyo Olympic Games, I was also involved in the Sapporo and Nagano Olympic Games.\u00a0<\/span>In the upcoming\u00a0<\/span>Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, I\u00a0<\/span>have also been put in charge of the national flags alongside several\u00a0<\/span>full-time\u00a0<\/span>specialists<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>From the production to the raising and\u00a0<\/span>lowering of the flags,\u00a0<\/span>this is a nerve-wracking job\u00a0<\/span>in which success is taken for granted, but failure\u00a0<\/span>leads to<\/span>\u00a0a diplomatic issue<\/span>. However,\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>am moved by a strong sense of duty and\u00a0<\/span>give it all I have every time<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

It is also Mr.\u00a0Fukiura\u2019s\u00a0job to\u00a0<\/span>ensure<\/span>\u00a0that the national flags are raised properly<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>person-in-charge<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>required to\u00a0<\/span>remember\u00a0<\/span>the length of the\u00a0<\/span>national anthems of each country, and\u00a0<\/span>coordinate the\u00a0<\/span>speed at which they raise\u00a0<\/span>the flags to\u00a0<\/span>the national anthems.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A desire that students will<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>play an active role in the world<\/span><\/b>,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0in jobs that\u00a0<\/span><\/b>they\u00a0<\/span><\/b>should spend their\u00a0<\/span><\/b>whole\u00a0<\/span><\/b>lives\u00a0<\/span><\/b>on<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

My\u00a0<\/span>keen interest in national flags\u00a0<\/span>started when I was in the fourth grade of elementary schoo<\/span>l. It started when I\u00a0<\/span>was looking at the world map\u00a0<\/span>put up in the classroom and wondered \u201c<\/span>Why\u00a0<\/span>do the national flags of the countries in Northern Europe\u00a0<\/span>have the same\u00a0<\/span>cross-shaped design?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0When I raised this question to my\u00a0<\/span>form teacher,\u00a0<\/span>I was told\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>focus more on my studies of\u00a0<\/span>Japanese,\u00a0<\/span>mathematics, science, and\u00a0<\/span>social studies\u00a0<\/span>instead of\u00a0<\/span>thinking about such questions.<\/span>\u00a0I did exactly as I was told and\u00a0<\/span>studied\u00a0<\/span>earnestly after that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>found national flags\u00a0<\/span>m<\/span>ore and more interesting.\u00a0<\/span>This was because\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>encompass<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>all\u00a0<\/span>fields of study, including linguistics,\u00a0<\/span>geometry, history, religion,<\/span>\u00a0ethnology,\u00a0<\/span>philosophy, and even extending to\u00a0<\/span>chromatics,\u00a0<\/span>optics<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>cloth production methods.\u00a0<\/span>Since then, and even\u00a0<\/span>until now at the age of 79, I\u00a0<\/span>continue to\u00a0<\/span>make new discoveries about national flags every day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I dedicated my\u00a0<\/span>school days<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>the work on national flags in the Olympic Games<\/span>, and to activities in the\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>tudent organization<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for promoting blood\u00a0<\/span>donation.\u00a0<\/span>These experiences\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>in turn led me to\u00a0<\/span>what could be described as my life\u2019s work thereafter,\u00a0<\/span>which include<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>research on international affairs, working in the International Committee\u00a0<\/span>of the Red Cross, and\u00a0<\/span>support for refugees.\u00a0<\/span>My\u00a0<\/span>outlook on life, which I\u00a0<\/span>discovered during\u00a0<\/span>my school days,\u00a0<\/span>is to\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSpend a lifetime on it\u00a0<\/span>precisely because\u00a0<\/span>it cannot be accomplished in a lifetime<\/span>. Try it first on your own<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>precisely\u00a0<\/span>because it cannot be done<\/span>\u00a0alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>I hope that\u00a0<\/span>the current students<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0Waseda\u00a0<\/span>University\u00a0<\/span>will pursue<\/span>, to the last,\u00a0<\/span>all\u00a0<\/span>the things that\u00a0<\/span>make them think \u201cThis is it!\u201d<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>be<\/span>come<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>capable persons<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0will<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>play active roles on the global arena.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

According to Mr.\u00a0Fukiura,\u00a0<\/span>national flags\u00a0<\/span>change frequently\u00a0<\/span>in tandem with the global\u00a0<\/span>situation,\u00a0<\/span>so\u00a0<\/span>he has to\u00a0<\/span>continue keeping an eye on them every day<\/span>. His love for national flags\u00a0<\/span>in infinite.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

P<\/span><\/b>rofile<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/span>T<\/span>adamasa\u00a0Fukiura<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0Fukiura\u00a0<\/span>has been knowledgeable about national flags from a young age, and\u00a0<\/span>was placed in charge of the national flags in the organizing committee for the 18th\u00a0<\/span>Summer Olympic<\/span>s in Tokyo\u00a0<\/span>while he was still\u00a0<\/span>a student\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0the School of Political Science and Economics<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Waseda\u00a0University<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>After completing\u00a0<\/span>his studies\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Graduate School of Political Science<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0Waseda\u00a0University<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>he<\/span>\u00a0has<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>served as<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross stationed in Bangladesh and Vietnam respectively,\u00a0<\/span>Vice\u00a0<\/span>President of the\u00a0<\/span>Association for Aid and Relief<\/span>, Japan,\u00a0<\/span>consultant\u00a0<\/span>to the organizing committee of<\/span>\u00a0the Nagano Winter Olympics<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and Professor\u00a0<\/span>at Saitama Prefectural University, among other positions.\u00a0<\/span>He\u00a0<\/span>is currently\u00a0<\/span>active in various fields, including as\u00a0<\/span>adviser in the\u00a0<\/span>International Relation and NOC\/NPC Services Bureau\u00a0<\/span>of the Tokyo\u00a0<\/span>Organizing<\/span>\u00a0Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games<\/span>, counsellor\u00a0<\/span>for the Immigration\u00a0<\/span>Service Agency<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of the Ministry of Justice<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>chairman of the board\u00a0<\/span>for both the\u00a0<\/span>Support21 Social Welfare\u00a0<\/span>Foundation\u00a0<\/span>and the Eurasia 21 Research Institute, and\u00a0<\/span>co-<\/span>representative of\u00a0<\/span>the NPO Research Institute of National Flags\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>nd Anthems\u00a0<\/span>o<\/span>f\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>he World<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ninety-four\u00a0countries and regions from around the world\u00a0participated in the\u00a01964\u00a0Tokyo Olympic Games.\u00a0It was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[91,94,81,71],"class_list":["post-2459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-alumni-en","tag-general-en","tag-global-en","tag-sports-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/tokyo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}