Japan flag colors
Japan states the Hinomaru in Munsell notation: N9 for the white and 5R 4/12 for the red. The specification changes with the cloth, and nylon is set slightly differently again at N9.2 and 6.2R 4/15.2, which is a level of detail almost no other country publishes.
Every color
| Color | Role | Hex | RGB | HSL | Pantone | CMYK | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | primary | #B0000F | 176, 0, 15 | 355, 100%, 35% | -- | -- | Fill screen |
| White | background | #E0E0E0 | 224, 224, 224 | 0, 0%, 88% | -- | -- | Fill screen |
Contrast pairs
Red passes AA for body text on white, at 7.4 to 1.
Of 12 ordered pairs in this palette, 8 clear 4.5 to 1 for body text and 8 clear 3 to 1 for large text. Row is the text color, column is the background.
| Text color | Red | White | White | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 5.6Red on White, passes AA for body text | 7.4Red on White, passes AA for body text | 2.9Red on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| White | 5.6White on Red, passes AA for body text | 1.3White on White, fails AA for body text | 15.9White on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| White | 7.4White on Red, passes AA for body text | 1.3White on White, fails AA for body text | 21.0White on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| Black | 2.9Black on Red, fails AA for body text | 15.9Black on White, passes AA for body text | 21.0Black on White, passes AA for body text |
Other values you will see
The palette above is what Japan publishes. Below is what you will actually meet elsewhere, and where the two part company it is worth knowing which one you are looking at.
As drawn in the reference artwork
The reference artwork uses pure white and a brighter red than the Munsell notation renders to. Since the specification is Munsell rather than RGB, neither reading is a conversion of the other.
- Red#BC002D
- White#FFFFFF
An area measurement of the reference artwork, retrieved 2026-07-31
Sources
- The palette above: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan