OSAKA SHOSEN KAISHA.
image by Phil Nelson, None
Some sources show a blue flag before the 1930s, but Alan Watt states that the field was always white, supported by Lloyd’s. Merchant Ships records a former blue flag with red device and red funnel markings. Rosanoski treats the red funnel design in the 1925 Almanacco as an assumed error.
The design represents the kanji O used for Osaka. Brown 1958 rounds the flag’s bands and makes their angles less definite. Photographs confirm the funnel design, although Horai Maru appears with a single narrow white band on a dark funnel. The Brazilian website enhances the flag device. Phil Nelson’s revised FOTW drawing corrected an earlier version with equal bands, but Rosanoski still finds the bands too high, leaving unequal gaps above and below.