PETALING JAYA, June 11 — The Japanese art form of Gijinka which humanises inanimate objects, has resulted in a stunning take of the Malaysian flag as a samurai.

Featured on the website World Flags which said it was not affiliated with the government of Japan nor the Olympics, 26 flags of participating nations have been reimagined into characters donning traditional Japanese garb in the run up to the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020.

The unofficial project states it was started to create hype for the event, educate on the uniqueness of each country and its culture as well as to raise appreciation for Japanese culture.

More flags will be given the Gijinka treatment in the run-up to the Olympics. — Courtesy of World of Flags

The stunning armour features a headgear comprising of the 14-point star and the crescent moon, while the outfit itself is an elaborate reference to the 14 red and white stripes and the blue canton with intricate detailing.

With a description of utilising part of the Malay proverb of "Seperti mentimun dengan durian” (Like the cucumber and the durian), signifying the "invincibility" of the king of fruits by comparison, the Jalur Gemilang is categorised under Asean group, which includes ours neighbours in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.

On their site, World Flags said they were hoping to recruit more illustrators and cartoonists to contribute to their colourful archive and opened up for collaborations.