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New Government Army flag (Japan)

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 24 August 2014

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They used white field 16 petals chrysanthemum outlined in black at Battle of Hakodate. 白地黒線菊花紋旗
Nozomi Kariyasu, 31 March 2014

Reduced and removed border.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 24 August 2014

Nishiki no Mihata - 錦の御旗

image by Nozomi Kariyasu, 05 May 2014

The New Government Forces army used so called Nishiki no Mihata in Japanese granted by Emperor.
The Emperor's gold flag is straight English translation. The flag is vertical long and used horizontal bar in the top. The flag was actually made from precious woven silk. The color was vermilion with textile pattern with other colors.
The flag had two patterns:
One is charged with gold chrysanthemum Imperial crest.
The second one is charged with gold disc at obverse side and silver disc at reverse side similar to Emperor's horizontal flag used 1870-1875.
The flag was used very much effectively at Boshin Civil War by New Government Forces. The flag represents Imperial Forces and put Tokugawa Shogunate Forces as rebel Forces against Emperor. Some Shogunate Forces stopped fighting once they saw the Imperial Flag.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 31 March 2014

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2014

I thought Nishiki no Mihata was white with a red sun. What does the name mean?
Is it like this above, or are there more details? As I drew it, it's a banner, 6:1, ending in three tails, red with a golden sun that has a diameter of one tenth of the length of the flag, placed centred on a line one width of the flag away from the hoist. What source is your image from, BTW?
The second one, it's a 5:8 flag, apparently, but the sun looks like it's an oval, and maybe placed to be centred on a 2:3 flag. Is that really what the flag looked like? So, the government forces used the Emperor's own flag?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2014

It is not a white flag. Nishiki no Mihata means Emperor’s gold flag and usually red with gold disc.
The source is drawing picture by Ukita Kasei in 1885. He drew several pictures of Boshin Civil War ordered by the Meiji Government. This picture shows reverse side of the flag with silver disc.
Nishiki no Mihata was granted to his subjects.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 April 2014

The color was vermillion with textile pattern with other colors. We can see the similar image with Nissho Toban in Imperial Enthronement Ceremony Flags section.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 05 May 2014