

In the Japanese theatrical poster of _From Up on Poppy Hill_ designed and
illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki, there is one flag before the [two-letter
signal](http://www.sleewee.com/misc-signal-flags.php) (UW):

[![Japanese theatrical
poster](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5qa8r.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7lznT.jpg)

The flag looks like that which represents the number 1 in the [International
Code of Signals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Signals).
However, looking up in the [_International Code of Signals (Revised 2003
United States Edition)_](http://www.marinedocs.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/International-Code-of-Signals.pdf), I could not find
the signal `1 UW`, but only `UW 1` (p. 89), meaning "Thank you very much for
your cooperation. I wish you a pleasant voyage".

If it's not a numeral pennant, then is the flag what I think it is, the
[national flag of Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan)? What
are the signal flags as a whole supposed to mean?


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2015-03-27T05:54:19.573
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from-up-on-poppy-hill
What does the top flag mean on the Japanese theatrical poster of "From Up on Poppy Hill"?


In the top middle of the poster is written [Ue wo Muite
Arukou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_%28song%29).

> "Ue o Muite Arukō" (上を向いて歩こう, "I Look Up As I Walk") is a Japanese-language
> song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, and written by
> lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. Ei wrote the lyrics
> while walking home from a Japanese student demonstration protesting against
> a continued US Army presence, expressing his frustration at the failed
> efforts.

> The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is
> walking so that his tears will not fall. The verses of the song describe his
> memories and feelings. Rokusuke Ei wrote this song while coming back from a
> protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the
> United States and Japan and feeling dejected about the failure of the
> protest movement, but the lyrics were rendered purposefully generic so that
> they might refer to any lost love.

In the poster, Umi also looks up while she is raising the flags, possibly so
her tears will not fall [when and
if](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_and_If) she thinks of her deceased
father who was killed in the Korean War. That, or Miyazaki is using Umi's
story to express "his frustration at the failed efforts"?

The poster is roughly sketched, so it's hard to tell whether the flags are
being raised by the girl or the tugboat. The relative sizes of the flags would
suggest they're being raised by the tugboat, but looking closely at the
poster, we see the UW flags are connected by a line that doesn't extend to the
topmost flag.

When viewed this way, it does seem like the topmost flag is being raised by
the girl in the way of a flag raising ceremony and the flag being raised is
the hinomaru flag. The fact that the flag is drawn tapering to one end like
the numeral pennant 1 just adds to the overall sketchiness.

Maybe Miyazaki did draw the hinomaru flag to reference Japan, seeing off his
country as she sails off in the dangerous and wrong path to destruction, but
this interpretation is rather unfounded given the evidence presented so far,
so I hope someone chimes in and writes a better answer. Meanwhile, I will
continue to do research on it and hopefully come up with something to support
or refute my argument.


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2015-07-05T17:40:39.020
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The first set of two flag is Uniform Whiskey which means have a pleasant
voyage. The pennant and the uniform Whiskey the tug puts up just means message
received and replying to your message.


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2016-04-16T19:17:41.233
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This poster is based on the rough "storyboard" sketches drawn for use as a
visual aid while the animators were discussing the plot prior to any actual
animation being done. So the vague top flag is just a quick representation of
the red-and-white-striped pennant the tugboat raises. However, the top flag
does look like the Japanese flag as it would be seen by someone looking up at
it from directly below (with perspective distortion) so using this sketch on
the official poster might indeed have some of the implied double meanings
mentioned in this thread. Ref: The storyboards are included in the 2-dvd USA
version of this movie.


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2019-11-23T19:40:57.390
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It could be the former "affirmative yes" flag?[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xwPwK.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xwPwK.png)


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