page_title: United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
section_title: Flag
hierarchical_section_title: United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands / Flag
context_page_description: The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, or "USCAR", was the government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, after World War II from 1950 until 1972.
context_section_description: The Criminal Code of Ryukyu restricted the flying of any national flags except the flag of the United States. The protesters against the Ryukyu government flew the Hinomaru, the flag of Japan. Civil ships of Ryukyu flew an ensign derived from International maritime signal flag "D" instead of Japanese or American ensigns. The D ensign was not well known internationally, so the Ryukyuan ships were sometimes seized. The ensign changed to "Hinomaru below a triangular flag labeled "Ryukyu" and "琉球" (Japanese for "Ryukyu") in 1967.
caption: Civil ensign of Ryukyu.