banners and drums; army
Archaic or literary metonym for an army or military force, from the banners and drums used in battle. Rare in modern Japanese outside historical or poetic contexts.
In classical texts, '旗鼓' can refer to an army.
triumphantly; in splendid array; with colors flying and band playing
Compound of 旗 (banner) and 鼓 (drum), used metonymically for an army in classical Chinese and adopted into literary Japanese. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.