It must be admitted that Western European coats of arms, which are much more familiar to us, sometimes look much more spectacular than Japanese ones. We are accustomed to seeing on the coats of arms images of gold or silver crowns and towers, dragons and vultures, rearing lions and two-headed eagles, hands gripping swords and axes, and below there is a motto, something like "Fulfill or die." Naturally, all this gives the eye much more food than the Japanese black and white "diamonds, circles and flowers of different styles." But we must not forget that neither in their design, nor in their historical significance, their camons, or simply monas (in Japan, this is what family coats of arms are called), are in no way inferior to the most famous knightly coats of arms characteristic of Western Europe. True, they are much simpler, but aesthetically more elegant and more sophisticated.
Today, as an illustrative material, you use pictures from the packaging of figures from the company "Zvezda", which, as it turned out, produces a whole army of Japanese samurai and ashigaru. In this picture from the packaging, we see the ashigaru behind wooden portable shields that depict the Tokugawa mon. But a samurai (wearing a helmet with decoration) and an ashigaru in a simple jingasa helmet belonging to the Ii clan are shooting because of them, as evidenced by a red sashimono with a "golden mouth" pattern. The red sashimono with four white squares belonged to the warriors of Kyogoku Tadatsugu, a Tokugawa subject, and the green sashimono with black dots belonged to Hoshino Masamitsu. Blue sashimono - with the image of a stock-rose could belong to someone from the Honda Tadakatsu family. This is one of the versions of Mona Tokugawa, whom Tadakatsu has always served faithfully.
It is believed that the first emperor of Japan Suiko (554–628) decided to acquire his own symbols, whose military flags, as reported by Nihon Seki (720), were decorated with his emblem. However, only two hundred years later, in the Heian period (794-1185), when the national Japanese culture entered the era of upsurge, the Japanese feudal lords again turned to the idea of family identity. The rivalry among noble families at that time was expressed in romantic adventures, gallant poetry and art tournaments, in the ability to subtly feel and be able to sing the beautiful. So it is not surprising that the noble courtiers at the imperial palace preferred to use not bows and swords to depict family symbols, but exquisite drawings of flowers, insects and birds. This was their main difference from the coats of arms of feudal Europe, where it was originally customary to depict predatory animals, details of armor, castle towers and weapons. Several types of lions were invented alone: “just a lion”, “leopard lion”, “rising lion”, “walking lion”, “sleeping lion” and even … “cowardly lion”. In this regard, the Japanese monks were much more peaceful, although at the same time it was much simpler and, one might say, more monotonous. It's just that the Japanese, by virtue of tradition and their own understanding of art and culture, avoided flashy snobbery, a bright palette of colors, limiting their monas to a simple monochrome drawing.
The motif of the black five-petalled flower was very popular and was found in white, yellow, red, and also in mirror image on white. It is possible that these horsemen are related to the Oda clan.
Connoisseurs of Japanese heraldry calculated that there were only six main subjects of images for monks: these are images of various plants, animals, natural phenomena, objects made by people, as well as abstract drawings and inscriptions in hieroglyphs or individual hieroglyphs. The most popular were monas, depicting flowers, trees, leaves, berries, fruits, vegetables and herbs. The second group consisted of objects made by man - there were about 120 of them in total. These were, most often, tools of rural labor. The third group included animals and insects, from wild geese and cranes to turtles and scorpions. We got into the drawings of monks and natural objects. For example, images of mountains, waves, sand dunes, sun and moon. Often, the theme of a mona could be an object like an unusual tree, a mountain stream, or even a mossy stone encountered on the way of a samurai. An animal could get into the coat of arms usually if some family event or legend was associated with it. Mon could be a reminder of some glorious ancestor. But it also happened that the decorative side of Mona dominated.
The samurai with large field swords no-dachi and red sashimonos with a monom in the form of four rhombuses belonged to Takeda Shingen, and symbolized his motto: “Swift as the wind; silent as a forest; fierce as a flame; reliable as a rock."
It is not surprising that the Japanese samurai sometimes simply borrowed the theme of the drawings from the fabrics they liked, including their kimonos, from the ornament decorating the fan, or from the ornaments of old caskets. This often happened with various floral designs and ornaments. Moreover, flowers such as chrysanthemum, peony, paulownia and wisteria were especially popular in Japan. In this case, they were depicted on the flags of this family, plates, lacquered bowls, chests, palanquins, on roof tiles, paper lanterns that were hung out at the gate near the house in the dark, and, of course, on weapons, horse harness and clothing. Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358–1408) was the first Japanese to adorn his kimono with a family monom. Then it became a fashion, and in the end it turned into a rule. The Japanese are sure to decorate their black silk kimono with ka-monom for special occasions such as weddings, funerals and formal meetings. Coats of arms have a diameter of 2 to 4 cm and are applied in five specific places - on the chest (left and right), on the back, between the shoulder blades, and also on each of the sleeves.
Archers of Takeda Shingen.
The most famous monom in Japan is the chrysanthemum flower with 16 petals. It is reserved for the imperial house and no one else dares to use it. It is also the state emblem. The design of a 16-petal chrysanthemum can be seen on the cover of a Japanese passport and banknotes. Only occasionally was the imperial ka-mon allowed as a special favor to be used by persons who did not belong to his family. So it was (and then posthumously) in the XIV century allowed Masashige Kusunoki (? -1336) for his truly selfless loyalty to Emperor Go-Daigo, and Saigo Takamori (1827-1877), an active participant in the Meiji Restoration and a famous rebel. Chrysanthemum mon was used by some monasteries and temples as a sign of patronage from the imperial family.
This drawing from Armor Modeling magazine finally shows what the ho-ro was like in the form of a cloak. Fluttering behind the rider's shoulders, ho-ro gave his figure a monumentality, so he was different from others, which was very important for the messengers. As always, there were fashionistas whose ho-ro was too long and dragged along the ground behind them. But then he was tucked up and tied to a belt. It is believed that in this position, ho-ro could extinguish arrows fired at the rider in the back. A gust of wind could turn the ho-ro and cover the rider's face with it. That was bad!
Although there seem to be a lot of Japanese monk themes, there are only 350 basic drawings. But you can add as many details to them as you like and change their design. It is enough, for example, to add a few veins to the drawing of a leaf of a plant, an extra petal in an inflorescence, place an already existing mon in a circle or square, and even simply duplicate it twice and three times, as a completely new mon is obtained. This could be done in the presence of a second or third son, since the firstborn usually inherited the mon father. Two repetitions in this case just meant - "the second son", and three - the third! In modern Japanese heraldry, there are about 7,500 mon family crests.
A very interesting set of figurines. The warlord behind the curtains of the maku receives the messengers with a horo on their shoulders, while the ashigaru is presented with the severed heads. Nearby there is a signal drum, with the help of which commands were given, and the emblem of the commander - an umbrella. Judging by the drawings and emblems on the jingasa, it could be Uesuge Kenshin. True, the field of the fan should then be blue. But the umbrella was the emblem of many …
In the past, not every Japanese clan was allowed to have their own mon. At first, only members of the emperor's family, shoguns, their closest relatives and their most influential confidants received them. But over time, as it always happens, the favorites of both began to fall into the ranks of the happy owners of ka-mon. Samurai who showed valor in battle, the shogun also began to reward them with a personally drawn monom (and such an award was considered very honorable, but the shogun did not cost anything!) Or even allowed to take his own - as a sign of special proximity to his home. But the real massive use of ka-mon became in the era of the warring provinces (1467-1568). Then everyone took part in the armed confrontation: daimyo, monasteries and even ordinary peasants. The warriors did not wear uniforms, therefore, it was possible to identify their own and others on the battlefield only by the flags behind them with monks painted on them. Although the right to ka-mon still had only the courtiers and the samurai class. Neither peasants, nor artisans, nor merchants were allowed to have it. Only famous actors of the Kabuki theater and equally famous … courtesans could break the ban. Only in the 19th century, towards the end of Shogun rule, did wealthy merchants gradually put their own monas in their shops, warehouses and goods. Of course, they did not have permission to do this, but the Japanese authorities turned a blind eye to this, because the officials of that time greatly owed many of them. But on the other hand, after the Meiji Restoration (1868), which ended the feudal period in the development of Japan, all class restrictions were canceled and anyone who wished received the right to have a ka-mon.
The most famous Japanese clans of the mid-16th century.
The centuries passed, and inter-family ties multiplied and branched, which naturally reflected on the Japanese monks. For example, the tradition of transmitting Mona through the female line arose. When a woman married, she often kept her mother's mon. Although the female coat of arms in the new family was supposed to be smaller than that of the husband. However, usually the woman took the man's mon. But original combinations of monas were also possible - that is, in the drawing of a camone, the heraldic symbols of both the husband and his wife were combined. As a result, in some high-born families there are up to ten kamons, which have become clear evidence of the antiquity of the clan.
And here you can clearly see the truly huge sashimono of the messenger, as well as the device of sashimono flags of various types. Finally, at the top, the easiest way to attach it with a rope is shown.
Often, family monks turned into trademarks of commercial enterprises. Thus, the image of the "three diamonds" was at first a monom of the family, and now it is a trademark of the Mitsubishi company. Even the Yakuza gangs have got their own monks.
As always, there were people who did not know the measure of anything. These figures show identification marks, the owners of which did not know her. Look at the sizes and quantities. Ashigaru has five identification marks on the bottom left, and this is only from the back. And the mon overlord was supposed to be on his cuirass in front and on his helmet! And one thing is a small badge on the helmet and on the shoulder pads. But when the sign with the monom covers the entire shoulder pad, or a whole sheet is attached to the helmet from the back, then this is already overkill. Surprisingly, the Japanese tolerated all this. This is how they developed their famous tolerance.
Today, for a significant part of the Japanese, the generic monas have largely lost any heraldic meaning and, as it was in the era of the ancient Heian, are rather elements of aesthetics, which, in turn, are very often used by artists and industrial designers.
