Apart from problems with pure abstract thinking, the Hinomaru illustrates another weakness of the Japanese, namely, their tendency to neglect the third dimension. The Hinomaru waving from a top of a flagpole does not look as beautiful as it would hanging flat on the wall in a framed picture. Its perfect beauty is marred when fluttering in the wind. European national flags, on the other hand, still make their point whether draped or falling because of the graphics of the straight line and a design that dances with the action of the wind. The ‘Stars and Stripes’ hanging limply in a schoolroom still look impressive, while the Hinomaru hung flat on the wall emphasises the Japanese approach to aesthetics with its preference for the two-dimensional.