<p>In the top middle of the poster is written <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_%28song%29" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ue o Muite Arukō</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Ue o Muite Arukō&quot; (pronounced [ɯe o mɯite aɾɯkoꜜː]) was written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall, with the verses describing his memories and feelings. Ei wrote the lyrics while walking home from participating in the 1960 Anpo protests against the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty, expressing his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts to stop the treaty. However, the lyrics were purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the poster, Umi also looks up while she is raising the flags, possibly so her tears will not fall <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_and_If" rel="nofollow noreferrer">when and if</a> she thinks of her deceased father who was killed in the Korean War.
That, or Miyazaki is using Umi's story to express &quot;his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts&quot;?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hinomaru flag</a>.
The fact that the flag is drawn tapering to one end like the numeral pennant 1 just adds to the overall sketchiness.</p>
<p>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.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-07-05T17:40:39.020Z
2024-08-31T03:37:17.230Z
2024-08-31T03:37:17.230Z
Gao
<p>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.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-23T19:40:57.390Z
2019-11-23T19:40:57.390Z
Sam G
<p>It could be the former "affirmative yes" flag?<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xwPwK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xwPwK.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-20T07:36:42.040Z
Could you expand the answer a bit? Does this make the three flags together to mean "Yes, bon voyage"? Any reference for this in real world usage?
Gao
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-10T20:38:54.400Z
2020-02-10T20:38:54.400Z
Julia
<p>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.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-16T20:37:55.263Z
You should add some references for this.
mivilar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-18T06:27:04.353Z
The message received flag, codenamed CA, is a different flag with alternating strips of red of white, not the one shown in the poster.
Gao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-16T19:17:41.233Z
2016-04-16T19:17:41.233Z
CDuggie
<p>In the Japanese theatrical poster of <em>From Up on Poppy Hill</em> designed and illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki, there is one flag before the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181019183508/https://www.sleewee.com/misc-signal-flags.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">two-letter signal</a> (UW):</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/7lznT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5qa8r.jpg" alt="Japanese theatrical poster" /></a></p>
<p>The flag looks like that which represents the number 1 in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Signals" rel="nofollow noreferrer">International Code of Signals</a>.
However, searching through the <a href="https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16694273/SFH00000/Pub102bk.pdf&amp;type=view" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>International Code of Signals (Revised 2020 United States Edition)</em></a>, I could not find the signal <code>1 UW</code>, but only <code>UW 1</code> (p. 87), meaning &quot;Thank you very much for your cooperation. I wish you a pleasant voyage&quot;.</p>
<p>If it's not a numeral pennant, then is the flag what I think it is, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan" rel="nofollow noreferrer">national flag of Japan</a>?
What are the signal flags as a whole supposed to mean?</p>

<from-up-on-poppy-hill>
What does the top flag mean on the Japanese theatrical poster of "From Up on Poppy Hill"?
# What does the top flag mean on the Japanese theatrical poster of "From Up on Poppy Hill"?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-03-27
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](https://web.archive.org/web/20181019183508/https://www.sleewee.com/misc-signal-flags.php) (UW):

[![Japanese theatrical poster](https://i.sstatic.net/5qa8r.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/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, searching through the [*International Code of Signals (Revised 2020 United States Edition)*](https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16694273/SFH00000/Pub102bk.pdf&type=view), I could not find the signal `1 UW`, but only `UW 1` (p. 87), 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?
**Tags:** from-up-on-poppy-hill
---
## 4 answers
### Answer by username_0 on 2015-07-05. Score: 4
In the top middle of the poster is written [Ue o Muite Arukō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_%28song%29).

> "Ue o Muite Arukō" (pronounced [ɯe o mɯite aɾɯkoꜜː]) was written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall, with the verses describing his memories and feelings. Ei wrote the lyrics while walking home from participating in the 1960 Anpo protests against the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty, expressing his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts to stop the treaty. However, the lyrics were 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 and dejection 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan).
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.
---
### Answer by username_1 on 2019-11-23. Score: 1
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.
---
### Answer by username_2 on 2020-02-10. Score: 0
It could be the former "affirmative yes" flag?[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/xwPwK.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xwPwK.png)
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2021-07-20): Could you expand the answer a bit? Does this make the three flags together to mean "Yes, bon voyage"? Any reference for this in real world usage?  
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2016-04-16. Score: 0
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.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2016-04-16): You should add some references for this.  
> **username_0** (2017-02-18): The message received flag, codenamed CA, is a different flag with alternating strips of red of white, not the one shown in the poster.  
---
