The design springs from JUNKO KOSHINO’s essential concept of “opposites,” placing the “Hinomaru” (rising-sun disc) at the centre of the image and taking as its themes “circle” and “square,” “red” and “black,” “West” and “East,” “stillness” and “motion,” “cosmos” and “humanity.” Opposites means that only when two poles exist can equilibrium be struck and balance and harmony be created. The circle and the square carry a fundamental meaning in their formal dimension — the “form” said to be made by God and the “form” made by human craft. The moving sun is a symbol of uniting east and west, south and north, expressing a stance of removing the barriers that exist between nations and engaging with a global perspective.