The 2020 Summer Olympics, which are currently underway in Japan’s capital Tokyo, inspired a group of Japanese artists to start an intriguing project titled “World Flags”. As part of the project, the artists are re-imagining the flags of the nations participating in the Olympics as samurai warriors.
Each samurai warrior is given a name and dressed in an outfit that resembles the flag of their county. The artists also provide a short description, weaknesses, and strengths for each character.
The idea of the project is to introduce Japan’s manga and anime culture to the rest of the world while also educating people about other countries.
“We hope this can be a way for people to learn about other countries,” Kozo Yamada, one of the artists, said in a chat with BBC. “That’s what the Olympics are about.”
The project currently has 84 samurai warriors representing 84 of the world’s countries. It includes characters from big nations like the United States, Russia, and United Kingdom, as well as small countries like Albania, Myanmar, and Brunei. The goal is to have 200 characters for each nation that participates in the Olympics.
You can check out some of the characters from the project below.
