White Flag - Minamoto Clan

Minamoto Clan

During the Genpei War (1180–1185), the Minamoto clan fought under a white flag while the Taira clan fought under a red flag. As successive shogunates were from Minamoto clan, this usage continued to the end of Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 when the current international usage was adopted.

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Famous quotes containing the word clan:

    It has now become the doctrine of a large clan of politicians that political honesty is unnecessary, slow, subversive of a man’s interests, and incompatible with quick onward movement.
    Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)