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Kamon / family crest

Kamon - 家紋

The concept of the Family Crest in Japan is still alive today, although its identified history goes far back to the beginning of the 12th century. Generally, the Family Crest in Japan is called KA-MON, KA means "family with own genealogical trees" and MON means "crest" or "emblem". Similarly, in European history, the concept of Heraldry and use of unique Shield of Arms or Coat of Arms also existed, with its history tracing back to a similar period in the 12th century.

The picture above is a parade of the Top Ten among Japanese family crests, i.e. their basic designs have been most often used in cranking up other family crests since before the first thousand years. Besides the 18-petalled golden chrysanthemum, which is the Imperial Family's crest, the most widespread crest designs consist of the following (the clans that are mentioned first are those whose crests are shown as examples of each category in the main picture above):

Shapes are quite simple but considerable in their proportion. It's rumored that Louis Vuitton gets influenced by these shape.

Guess how many kamon, family crests, exist in Japan! Well, there are about 20,000 with each one of them having a rich historical background. Impressive! So, kamon with a hollyhock, chrysanthemum, star or moon design are just beginning: For today, PingMag introduces you to the genki world of Japanese kamon with tons of fabulous animal symbols.

nice portfolio

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