Japanese map symbol for a police station

A truncheon device set inside a circle.

Also known as: Keisatsusho mark, Police headquarters mark

Maps & navigationStandard profile

Meanings

Denotes a police station on a Japanese topographic map, distinguished from the police box by the enclosing circle.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Marks a police station on a GSI topographic sheet.
Contexts: Maps
Officially standardisedVerified fact
Uses the same crossed-baton device as the police box and adds a circle around it, so the two ranks share one image and differ by one element.
Contexts: Maps

A pair of crossed batons drawn inside a circle, the circle marking the higher rank of station.

Commonly confused with: Japanese map symbol for a police box
The same crossed truncheons without the circle mark a kōban — a neighbourhood police box, not a station.

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Map symbols used on Japanese topographic maps
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) · retrieved 2026-08-23
Japan's national mapping agency's own published legend. Cited for the form and meaning of a symbol on Japanese topographic maps; the historical origin of individual symbols is cited separately where claimed.

Last reviewed 2026-08-26

Meanings

Denotes a police station on a Japanese topographic map, distinguished from the police box by the enclosing circle.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Marks a police station on a GSI topographic sheet.

Contexts: Maps

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Uses the same crossed-baton device as the police box and adds a circle around it, so the two ranks share one image and differ by one element.

Contexts: Maps

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

Map symbols used on Japanese topographic maps
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) · retrieved 2026-08-23
Japan's national mapping agency's own published legend. Cited for the form and meaning of a symbol on Japanese topographic maps; the historical origin of individual symbols is cited separately where claimed.

Last reviewed 2026-08-26