Japanese family crests, or kamon, are the traditional patterns used to symbolize family names in Japan. Although there are various views about their exact origin, it is generally accepted that they started as patterns on the palanquins, oxcarts and garments used by court nobles around the twelfth century, and later spread to the warrior class and even to commoners.
The motifs for many of the crests were plants, probably because the Japanese have admired and respected nature since ancient times. In contrast with their highly colorful European counterparts, Japanese family crests are black and white, and their designs are mostly two-dimensional and symmetrical.
Initially, some of them were more realistic and colorful, but after the necessity to put them on specific parts of clothes arose, they developed gradually into the style seen today. Although they are monochrome, family crests make the best artistic use of sharp black-and-white contrast, straight and curved lines, sharp angles, and simple geometric shapes. The traditional symbols thereby achieve a surprisingly fresh, clear, sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing artistic style. Furthermore, their designs depict Japanese life, way of thinking and even history, which makes them valuable cultural assets as well.
Outside of Japan, crests were utilized only in Europe, where they seem to have originated around the twelfth century. In those days, wars were frequent, and the warriors wore helmets that covered their whole heads. The helmets resulted in a narrower field of vision, so the custom of drawing symbols on their shields to identify allies and enemies developed. These symbols were the source of the European crest, called, “coat of arms”.
European knights often depicted animals as motifs for their crests, probably because they had a tradition of hunting and stock farming. Today, European coats of arms are still used for buildings, labels, stamps and so on. Though the crests of Europe and those of Japan contrast greatly in color, style, and motifs, it is interesting to note that both originated at about the same time in history.
In Japan, the crests were regarded as an important symbol of a household, so traditionally they were closely related with families. After World War II, however, as the definition of a “family” has changed, so has the meaning of the family crest. Modernization and a trend toward the nuclear family have progressed rapidly, various lifestyles have emerged, and society has come to place emphasis more on the individual and less on the family. Therefore, the crests gradually lost their importance in society, and it was feared that their usage might die out. But they are still alive today, and seem to have established a permanent place in Japanese society. They can be seen in various places in modern Japan, especially at ceremonial occasions.
For example, people wear formal kimono such as montsuki haori hakama (kimono jackets with family crests and full pleated trouser-skirts) for men, and tomesode (regular sleeve length kimono with patterns and family crests) for women even now. These formal kimono, worn especially at traditional Japanese style weddings, are in the seemingly sober colors of black and white, but they express a refined and quiet beauty that never yields to bright colors or showy patterns. During wakes, mourners light lanterns marked with their family crest, which brightly illuminate the dark night. The scene inevitably impresses visitors with the strong, continued existence of “the family” and encourages visiting relatives to reconfirm their family ties. In the graveyards as well, family crests can be seen quite abundantly in a full variety of designs and motifs. Most of them are engraved on tombstones, setting apart the graves of different families.
Kamon are not only found at weddings and funerals. You can still find crests in many places as you walk along any street in Japan today. The crests of shop names or symbols are displayed on the shop curtains (called noren) and signs of old shops. Some of them tell what the shop deals in, while others symbolize in traditional Japanese cuisine, utilize the crests to evoke a sense of continuity and family ownership.
Even large companies and corporations sometimes adopt the founder’s family crest as representative of the entire company, and some local governments use crests to symbolize their communities.