Imperial Japanese Naval Commission Pennant, traditionally, masthead pennants were flown from a nation's warship. Customarily, these pennants were used by the armed ships of sovereign states to distinguish warships from other vessels. The Japanese masthead pendant, in its present form, was adopted in 1914; it was abolished following the Japanese surrender of 14 August 1945 and re- 1956.It is interesting to note that the Japanese masthead pennant utilizes an 8 rayed sun used on naval rank flags rather than the 16 rayed sun found on the ensign.