According to the website Our Tokushima, the shirasagi, or “white heron,” was adopted on September 13, 1966. The website reports, “The shirasagi (white heron) is found all over Tokushima, particularly in Tatsue-cho, Komatsushima City. White herons nest and breed in forests or bamboo groves around swamps or the waterside. The beautiful snow-white figure of the shirasagi is loved by the people of the prefecture as a symbol of peace.”
I think this bird is the great white egret (Egretta alba), but it could be the Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes).
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
