Japanese Family Crest -Kamon-

Japanese Family Crest -Kamon-

Do you have a family crest? There are various motifs in Japan. It played an important role in civil war. Let’s know about it.

Japanese Family Crest -Kamon-

Every single Japanese has a family crest or kamon. Ka means house while mon means emblem. And the kinds or motifs are more than 5000.

The famous one -Chigai Takanoha-

For example, the crossing pair of hawk (chigai takanoha) is a famous one and commonly used while the motif of three hollyhock leaves was used for Tokugawa shogun back in the Edo period. It can be found at temples, on some traditional items, and so on.

There are various motifs

There are actually more such as three monkeys, crane crest, butterfly crest, etc.

When do they use Kamon?

When to use those emblems? You can find basically on the back of one’s kimono. There is the emblem to show which family you are in.

It was important in civil war

However, historically in civil wars, those emblems were shown to distinguish individuals and/or specific clans. The emblems appeared on flags, tents, and equipment. Nowadays, such a tradition is fading away. However, the family emblem reminds them of their own roots and belongingness.

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