Flag of Tibet

The Tibetan flag, also known as the "snow lion flag", was a flag of the military of Tibet, introduced by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1912 and used as a national flag until 1959. Designed with the help of a Japanese priest, it reflects the design motif of the Japanese military's Rising Sun Flag. Since the 1960s, it is used a symbol of the Tibetan independence movement.

History

Design and early use

In the early 20th century, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the end of control over Tibet by Chinese central government, the Tibetan army received training from the British and Japanese and all army regiments were ordered to carry the Tibetan national flag.

According to the scholar Alexander Berzin,

in the face of a continuing Chinese military threat and lack of Russian or British support, Tibet turned to Japan to update the Tibetan army.... Aoki Bunkyo, a Japanese Buddhist priest...also helped design the Tibetan National Flag by adding to traditional Tibetan symbols a rising sun surrounded by rays. This motif comprised the Japanese cavalry and infantry flags of the day and later became the design for the Japanese Navy and Army Flag during World War II.