With Each Rising Sun Trivia Quiz

Answer: Japan

The Japanese word for their country is Nippon or Nihon, both meaning the place where the sun rises. This originated because Japan is located to the east of China, and the term was used in imperial correspondence as long ago as the Sui dynasty in China, around 600 CE. The English name seems to have reached Europe near the end of the 16th century as Giapan, adapted by Portuguese trades from the Malay name Jepang.

The national flag is officially called the Nisshōki (flag of the sun), but is commonly referred to as the Hinomaru (circle of the sun). The sun plays a central role in Japanese mythology, and the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu is held to be the ancestress of the emperor of Japan.

Answer: Kiribati

More formally the Republic of Kiribati, this island nation is quite spread out, so it covers a significant region, mostly water. Its land area is just over 800 sq km, almost entirely with an elevation of less than 2 m; including water, the nation's area is just under 4000 sq km, with an exclusive economic zone around 3.5 million sq km. The equator runs through the middle of the islands, so Kiribati is in both the north and the south hemispheres. It stretches from Banaba (169E longitude) to Caroline Island (150W longitude), so is in both the east and west hemispheres. The international Date Line makes a large bend to the east so that the entire country can be in the same time zone.

The flag of Kiribati has wavy blue and white lines to represent the Pacific Ocean and the three main island groups, and a rising sun in reference to the nation's position on the equator. The sun's points represent the individual islands. The frigatebird flying over the sun symbolises power and freedom - the birds are known for being almost continuously in flight.

Answer: Bangladesh

In fact, the region which is now known as the country of Bangladesh was the first part of the Indian subcontinent to come under British rule, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which the Nawab of Bengal (supported by France) was defeated by troops of the British East India Company led by Robert Clive. About a century later, the company had gained control of most of the subcontinent, but the Indian Rebellion of 1857 led to the region being made a crown colony, known as the British Raj, and Victoria became the Empress of India, in addition to her many other titles.

In 1947 India and Pakistan were established as two independent nations, theoretically divided along religious lines. In reality, it was far more complex! Pakistan consisted of two main regions, which are now known as Pakistan (in the northwest of the subcontinent) and Bangladesh in the northeast, then called East Pakistan. In 1972 East Pakistan achieved independence and adopted its current flag. The green colour is said to represent the lush green vegetation of the area, and the disk, the rising sun of independence, is red to represent the bloodshed involved in the struggle.

Answer: Kyrgyzstan

Although it is officially the Republic of Kyrgyz, the country is more commonly known in English as Kyrgyzstan, a name composed of two parts. 'Kyrgyz' is derived from a Turkic word meaning 'we are forty', while 'stan' is from a Persian word meaning 'the place of' - you will note that it is a common suffix for country names in that area! Like the country name, the forty points on the flag's sun refer to the legendary hero Manas, who united forty small clans into a single tribe.

The crossed arches inside the sun represent the laths the produce the circular opening in the roof of a yurt, the traditional tent of the nomadic people of central Asia.

The flag was adopted in 1992, but has not been without controversy. The red colour, for example, is said to represent the bravery of Manas and his men, but a number of the country's minority groups, who were the ones being conquered, find it a mark of their subjugation.

Then there are those who object that red is a sign of lingering communism, despite the end of the Soviet era which led to the nation's independence.

Answer: Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has one of the lowest population densities in the world, but its mineral resources have made it an economically significant country. It became part of the Russian empire in the middle of the 19th century, and has since been part of a number of political restructuring arrangements, leading ultimately to independence in 1991. Its capital at that time was its largest city, Almaty; in 1997 the capital was moved to Astana, which was renamed Nur-sultan between 2019 and 2022.

The elements of the flag include the light blue background, representing peace and open space of the steppes; the sun, a symbol of life and energy, with its rays representing the grains that grow there; the golden eagle, common to many different Kazakh tribes, a statement of the power of the state; and the traditional ornamental pattern called 'koshkar-muiz' (the horns of the ram) along the hoist. (It should be said that other interpretations can be found as to the significance of the various elements, as there is no one official statement.) When Kazakhstan gained independence, a competition was held to select a design, as there had not been a national flag before the Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was established in 1920, so no flag to go back to. The designer of the winner, Shaken Niyazbekov, used red for the 'koshkar-muiz', but it was changed to gold for the final design.

Answer: Malawi

The name Malawi comes from the language of the Chewa people, a Bantu group who are the largest ethnic group in the country. "Malaŵí", which means flames, was also the origin of Maravi, the name for a 16th century empire that used to cover parts of modern-day Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

The rising sun is said to represent the dawn of a new age of freedom for Africa, where many colonial holdings were gaining independence during the 1960s. Its 31 rays show that Malawi was the 31st nation to gain independence during this tumultuous period. Black represents the indigenous people, red the blood shed to gain independence, and green nature. Between 2010 and 2012 this flag was replaced by one that had red, green and black stripes, with a white sun in the centre. This change was intended to make a statement about the nation's economic progress since independence; it was not popular, and a new government changed back.

Answer: Antigua and Barbuda

Columbus reported on Antigua following his visit, but it was not one of the Caribbean islands that the Spanish chose to settle. The British colonized Antigua in 1632 and Barbuda in 1678; they became part of the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands in 1871, and joined the West Indies Federation in 1958. Full independence was accomplished in 1981, following a period of time as one of the West Indies Associated States, starting in 1967.

The 1967 competition to design a new flag, which had over 500 entrants, was won by Sir Reginald Samuel, whose design featured a rising gold sun to signify the dawn of a new era. Its seven points represent the six parishes of Antigua and the island of Barbuda. The other colours were chosen to be symbolic: black for African ancestry of many residents and for the soil of the land; blue for the Caribbean Sea, and for hope; red for energy; the placement of the white is intended to make the central wedge suggest the attractions of the country for tourists: sun, sea and sand.

Answer: Uruguay

FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the body that governs the game commonly known in the United States as soccer (probably derived from a shortening of Association Football). The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, the host nation being selected because they were about to celebrate their constitutional centennial and because they had won the 1928 Olympic title in the sport. They won, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final.

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay has three official flags for various occasions, but this is the one designated as the national flag. It was first adopted in 1828, following independence from Brazil. The original design by Joaquín Suárez had nine blue stripes, to signify the nine original departments. This was reduced a few years later to make them easier to see, so there are now five white stripes and four blue stripes. The golden sun is called the Sun of May, a symbol of the 1810 May Revolution which started the end of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, and Spanish rule. It has a human face, and its rays alternate eight straight and eight wavy lines.

Answer: Argentina

The Sun of May is a replica of an engraving on the first Argentine coin worth eight escudos, which was approved in 1813. Its name refers to the May Revolution of 1810, which started in Buenos Aires, and led to the end of Spanish rule over the regions that (more or less) became Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Legend says that the sun broke through as the new government was proclaimed, showing that the Incan sun god Inti smiled on them.

While the Uruguayan flag and the Argentine flag both include the Sun of May, Argentine's has 16 rays of each shape (rather than 8), and they are longer when compared to the sun's diameter. The blue and white triband was first flown in 1812, and originally was only used as a flag of war. The blue and white colours were chosen to stand out clearly from the red and gold of the Spanish during the War of Independence. The blue and white are popularly said to represent the sky and clouds, but that seems to just be folklore. The triband became the national flag in 1816, and the sun was added in 1818.

Answer: Australia

On federation, the Australian government chose to use a national flag that had a blue field, with a Union Jack in the top left corner, and stars representing the Southern Cross (with an extra Federation Star showing the colonies that were federating). During the second half of the twentieth century it became increasingly obvious that such a tribute to the colonial heritage of those who had started taking over the land in 1788, with no regard for the societies that had already been there for over 65,000 years, no longer reflected the nation adequately. While there were movements to replace the national flag entirely, they had not succeeded by the time it was agreed to have a second flag that could fly alongside the Australian Blue Ensign.

The Australian Aboriginal Flag was designed by the Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas in 1971 to be a symbol for the land rights movement. It was decreed in 1995 to be "the flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and a flag of significance to the Australian nation generally". It was first flown in 1971 in Adelaide, at the start of NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week, and subsequently flown over the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, first set up in 1972. When Cathy Freeman won the 200m and 400m races in the 1994 Commonwealth Games, she caused controversy when she carried both the Blue Ensign and the Aboriginal Flag during her victory laps, as only the national flag was officially approved. The 1995 recognition of the flag by the Keating government meant that both flags flew at Olympic venues for the 2000 Games in Sydney.

The Torres Strait Islander Flag, which is also an official flag of Australia, specifically represents Torres Strait Islander people. It was designed in 1992 by Bernard Namok.