Family Crests and the Stories They Tell of Japanese Families and History
If you look closely at street corners or old buildings in Japan, you will sometimes notice small emblems based on circles, flowers, leaves, and other motifs.
These crests appear in many places: on shrine roofs and gravestones, on the backs of traditional kimono, and on the shop curtains of long-established businesses.
These designs, known as kamon (family crests), are distinctive emblems that indicate a Japanese family line.
Today, many people go about their lives without being consciously aware of their own family crest. Yet from the Edo period onward, kamon came to be used not only by samurai but also by townspeople and farmers, and it is said that most households eventually came to have some kind of crest.
Passed down over centuries, a family crest is more than a decoration. It is a sign that reflects the history, hopes, and pride of the family that has carried it.
The Origins and Spread of Family Crests
The origins of kamon are thought to date back to the late Heian period.
It is said that they began as patterns used by court nobles as identifying marks on their ox-drawn carriages and furnishings. In a court where many aristocrats came and went, these designs functioned as “marks” that allowed one to recognize one’s belongings at a glance.
In time, this culture of using crests was taken over by the warrior class.
On the battlefield it was vital to distinguish friend from foe in an instant, and kamon began to be displayed on banners and flags, as well as on armor and helmets.
A crest served not only as a standard that showed which house or force a given army belonged to, but also as a mark of bloodline, status, and allegiance to one’s lord. In those days, family crests were highly practical designs whose primary role was to clearly convey “which house one belongs to.”
The war banner of the Tokugawa army
With the advent of the Edo period and the end of long years of warfare, the role of family crests gradually began to change.
As warrior society stabilized, kamon ceased to be the preserve of the samurai and spread to commoners such as townspeople and farmers, taking root in daily life as emblems representing the “house.”
From this time on, family crests came to be used less as standards on the battlefield and more as symbols of “family standing” and “social rank.”
At weddings, funerals, and other formal occasions, it became common practice to have crests dyed onto formal kimono and haori jackets. The crest of each household quietly came to tell the story of that family’s history and position as inherited from its ancestors.
A formal kimono (hakama) bearing family crests
Representative Family Crests and Their Symbolism
It is said that more than 20,000 varieties of kamon exist today.
Their motifs are diverse—flowers and plants, animals, everyday objects, geometric patterns—and each is a compact yet highly symbolic design.
Each crest embodies wishes, ideals, and values of a household, and over generations these sentiments have been passed down in the form of the crest itself.
Aoi (Hollyhock)
The hollyhock has long been regarded as a sacred plant.
In Kyoto, it is known as the divine emblem of the Kamo Shrines—Kamomioya Shrine (Kamigamo Shrine) and Kamo Wakeikazuchi Shrine (Shimogamo Shrine)—and its motif is also reflected in the name of the “Aoi Matsuri” festival.
As a family crest, the most famous example is the Tokugawa clan’s “Mitsuba Aoi” (three hollyhock leaves).
This design, with three hollyhock leaves arranged in a circle, is still used today by the Tokugawa head family and related houses, and can also be seen at sites connected to the Tokugawa clan such as Nikkō Tōshōgū in Tochigi Prefecture and Zōjōji, their family temple in Tokyo.
The hollyhock crest functions as a symbol that represents the Tokugawa family itself and continues to exert a strong presence even now.
The triple hollyhock crest, famous as the Tokugawa clan’s family emblem
Kiri (Paulownia)
The paulownia grows quickly, and its large, beautiful leaves and flowers have led it to be treated as a symbol of abundance and prosperity.
As a family crest, the paulownia was originally considered a highly prestigious emblem associated with the emperor and the imperial household. Later, it is said that the right to use it was granted to meritorious warlords and court nobles, and from there it gradually spread.
Among these designs, the “Go-san no Kiri” used by Toyotomi Hideyoshi is especially famous.
This crest, which places five clusters of paulownia flowers in the center and three on each side, became engraved in people’s memories as the emblem of a ruler who unified the country.
The “Go-shichi no Kiri,” now used as the emblem of the Government of Japan, inherits this tradition of the paulownia crest and serves as a symbol in official state contexts.
The “Goshichi-no-kiri” paulownia crest, the official emblem of the Japanese government.
Mokkō (Wood Sorrel / “Mokkō” Pattern)
The mokkō motif is counted among the oldest designs in Japanese family crests.
Its origins are debated: some say it is a stylized cross-section of a melon or gourd, others that it represents a bird’s nest. What these interpretations share is that mokkō has been used as a symbol of “prosperity of descendants” and “security of the household.”
The typical mokkō crest has four petal-like lobes, but the “Oda Mokkō” used by the warlord Oda Nobunaga is known for its distinct five-lobed design.
Originally employed as a crest by court nobles, mokkō was adopted by samurai and townspeople as family crests spread to the broader populace.
Today it is widely known as one of “Japan’s five major family crests,” along with the hollyhock, paulownia, wisteria, and hawk’s feather.
The “Oda mokkō” crest, characterized by its five-petaled design.
Fuji (Wisteria)
The wisteria, with its gracefully drooping flower clusters, has long been a plant deeply embedded in Japanese aesthetics.
Its appearance was loved by court nobles in the Heian period and was eventually taken up as a motif for family crests.
Wisteria is said to represent refinement, prosperity, and longevity, and its trailing clusters have also been interpreted as symbols expressing wishes for “prosperity of descendants” and “household security.”
When speaking of wisteria crests, the Fujiwara clan naturally comes to mind.
This powerful family, whose name itself contains the character for wisteria, adopted wisteria as their crest. The Fujiwara clan’s dominance in the Heian period influenced later court society, and the wisteria crest came to be accepted as a mark of high rank.
Over time, wisteria crests spread to warrior families and townspeople as well, giving rise to numerous variations in the number of flower clusters, the arrangement of branches, and the placement of leaves.
With its flowing curves, the wisteria crest combines softness with supple strength and continues to be passed down by many families today.
An elegant wisteria crest.
Taka no Ha (Hawk’s Feather)
The “hawk’s feather” crest, which depicts sharply extended feathers, is among the most strikingly bold and martial of Japanese family crest designs.
Hawks were favored birds among warriors for their brave hunting behavior and keen intelligence, and their feathers were prized as material for arrow fletching.
For this reason, the hawk’s feather crest became widely used among samurai households as a martial emblem and is counted among Japan’s five major family crests.
Hawk’s feather crests are typically composed of one, two, or three feathers arranged side by side. The design is simple, yet it possesses a balanced beauty and a sense of tension.
Differences in the number and angle of the feathers have given rise to many variants, each employed as an emblem expressing “strength” and “nobility.”
Even as times have changed, the hawk’s feather motif retains a steadfast presence among family crests thanks to its powerful impression and refined design.
Today it is sometimes used as a symbol for martial arts and sports teams, where it lives on as an emblem of “pride” and “competitiveness.”
The “taka no ha” hawk feather crest, known for its many variations in feather number and angle.
Family Crests in the Present Day
In contemporary life, we encounter far fewer occasions than in the past when we are consciously aware of family crests.
Changes in lifestyle have reduced both the opportunities to see kamon and the opportunities to think about their meanings.
Even so, family crests still appear quietly throughout the landscapes of Japan: in the designs of shrines and temples, on festival garments, in patterns on crafts and kimono, and carved into gravestones.
Each crest carries within it the origins of a family and the feelings of its people, handed down over long spans of time.
To look anew at one’s family crest is to touch one’s own roots and to gain a sense of the accumulated layers of Japanese history and culture.
No matter how much the times may change, the pride and path taken by a family, embodied in a single crest, will continue to be passed down quietly from generation to generation.
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