The Toyota logo we see today was invented in 1989. However there is a "Toyotomi" Kamon that has probably nothing to do with the Toyoda family exists. When you look closely at Sakichi Toyoda's kamon kimono in his wikipedia, it does have kamons on both sides that if my eyes don't deceive me, looks like the Ikeda clan kamon.
The mitsubishi logo is not exactly a kamon, but was built from 2 kamon: the one from the founder of mitsubishi - iwasaki family which where 3 losanges stacks on top of each other (each losanges representing a water chestnut). And the one from its first employer ( Tosa clan) which was three leafs positionned as the current logo is. Fun fact, the name Mitsubishi came later after the logo and is a description of the logo: Mitsubishi = Mitsu Hishi = 3 water chestnuts.
@@EmmanuelLapierre That's not what I was told,. mitsu = 3 and ishi 石 = stone, jewel or precious stone....hence the 3 diamonds. Maza is also a family name changed from Matsuda because there is no tsu sound in English.
When the Japenese depicted George Washington around the time that America was new, they drew him wearing traditional Japenese garb, with the Tokugawa crest. Thats some high respect. They also may have depicted him fighting tigers...yeah that totally happened, I promise.
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 Because of what the Tokugawa represent. The ushering in of a new era, without the emperor...until the meiji restoration. And also, unification.
@@jojothermidor "...without the emperor" Which would be England's King what's-his-face in the 13 colonies' case That and where the fuk did they get an idea of him fighting tigers??? Pretty sure those were UK tigers but does England have them in the first place (natively)???
My family's crest is the mokou-mon, and was specifically handed down from mothers to their daughters. It's nice to be able to hear more about it and kamon in general
@@ghonda2865 Yes. Many Japanese Americans have Western names. I have two sets of names, a Japanese given and clan name, and my American set. Plus I also know the clan she is referencing. I am related.
@@nrmnthompson Interesting. I'm also a japanese descendant my full Name is Gabriel Honda, but i dont know much about the culture. My Grandfather didn't taught us about many things since he wanted our family to adapt to western society. i'm From Brazil
@@ghonda2865 Nice to meet you. I am Norman Yukio Abe Thompson. I must say though, Brazil has the largest population of Japanese outside of Japan, and I am sad to say I dont know much about it.
13:45 Suddenly I realize why Fire Emblem Three Houses put so much emphasis on Crests specifically. Sure, in that universe the Crests are brands with magical power not necessarily tied to specific families, but the connection between them and Kamon and the cultural influence is so obvious now.
Real-life Europeans also used crests/symbols/kamons too! Although they were mostly restricted to royal and noble families. For example, the Windors (Queen Elizabeth II's family) all have their various monograms personalized. And each regent (Reigning King or Queen) carries a symbolic crest which has all other past crests of the previous kings/queen regnant.
Shogo, let me say this: you're an excellent communicator. It's very, very rare that I'll watch long videos all the way to the end, but I always watch yours. I think your biggest quality is that you have a nice, clean structure and script, and so the length of your videos always feels justified. Contrast this with content creators that will drone on and waste a lot of time. Congrats, man. Keep it up.
Exactly like this. His videos are pretty smooth and has a sense of "cleanliness" that makes them enjoyable to watch, even for a longer period of time. And his way of speaking is so calm and well structured that I've even recommended his videos for people who are trying to learn english :)
Exactly like this. His videos are pretty smooth and have a sense of "cleanliness" that makes them enjoyable to watch, even for a longer period of time. And his way of speaking is so calm and well structured that I've even recommended his videos for people who are trying to learn english :)
Being born in the United States its always cool to find out more of my family's history in places I never expect. When my family immigrated well before I was born we had to loose alot of the Japanese identity and it was only exacerbated by WWII. One thing that did survive all of that was our kamon, the gozan no kiri, an image id see marked all over the place when it came to our family during my childhood. Kinda gives me that "small world" feeling seeing stuff like this.
An explanation. A demonstration. A practical application. An after action recap. This method of video is the best in the world. Thank you for the video. Well done, sir.
I love kamon. I actually tried to create my own kamon that looks like the Yorkshire rose but in a Japanese style. Although I might try to create a few more versions of it. Amazing video Shogo, thank you so much :)
I’ve been trying to either find or come up with one my own. It’s been hard, it can’t be just anything. There should be something personal reflected in it.
@@Shawshankdude2005 Yeah the meaning has to be the most important part of a kamon. The meaning I've assigned to the Yorkshire kamon is that most my family live and have grown up there but as has been said, meaning is the key part of kamon
There's a subreddit and an associated discord server about Kamon design. While it isn't exactly hopping, it's great to have people to exchange design thoughts with!
Your description of the use of the hollyhock plant reminds me of some of the motifs used in Scottish tartans (the plaid colours commonly seen in Scottish kilts, etc.). For example: my mother's family, the MacKays, use a green and purple-blue hue that I always considered rather ugly as a child. I later learned that these colours were symbolic of (among other things) the thistle that grows in the clan's rugged, traditional homeland. Although the thistle is considered by many to be a weed, it grows in poor, rocky soil - places where more esteemed plants could never survive. Now, I don't feel so hesitant about using these clashing colours. :) It's interesting to see the parallels between tartan and kamon. It's yet another reminder about how people are the same, all over the world.
Once i wrote an article about kamon, so i thought i learned a lot about this theme, but this video was surprisingly interesting. Never heared that Nobunaga used 7 kamons. Thanks for teaching us, Shogo! Also a great thanks for naming kimono and kamon shops. I spent a lot of time to find kimono shop early...
I do actually use my familys crest, I discovered my connection to them that my family had kept hidden for a long time. I now use the crest of the Hosokawa family, its quite basic and hard to find items for but I am happy to represent my family
Perhaps my favorite kamon is Ishida's kamon, which is a calligraphy of sentence(?) that reads "dai ichi dai man dai kichi" which very roughly translates to "one for all and all for one and heaven bless the land"
When I trained in Iaido, we all used the Katabami-mon. After almost 20 ish years of training, I didn't know much about it. All I knew about it was then our head teacher was picking one to you to start his schools in England when his teacher said to use his. It will always have a special with me and I'm glad I now know a little more about it. Thank you for being a great teacher.
Being a practitioner of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, I've generally used the Nigasa for things. I've got a montsuki with it that I wear for embu or formal events. When my sensei got married, he double checked with his sensei that it'd be appropriate for him to have the kamon on his kimono.
I wanted to adopt a Japanese kamon, but one adopted me instead and it is called Maruni Tsurukashiwa. I have an old Nobori with this kamon on it. The nobori is from late sengoku to early Edo. I also came across the same kamon in 10k gold pendant form and I’ve had them for 2 almost 3 years now.🌸
I've had an idea for a kamon of my own since summer of 1992, after having becoming interested in Japanese culture and history. I was five at the time, so forgive the apparent silliness of the design. It consists of only three parts: A crescent moon with the tips pointed upwards, a pair of katana resting crossed atop the moon, and a rokakku shuriken hovering just above the katana. It's a design that in my eyes represented three things that to this day, I consider the core of my love of Japan. The moon represents purity of the soul, such as what one would seek from a pilgrimage of the shrines that dot the land. The paired katana represent honor, justice, and the bushido code (which inspires me to be the best I can be). And the rokakku shuriken represenst loyalty, and is a reminder of one's mortality. "None can live eternally, so live your life to the best of your ability, but strive to remain kind, just, honorable, and loyal." This is the creed of my kamon, and I try my best to uphold it, though it can be difficult at times. Shogo-San, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my kamon and its creed. Even though I'm American, I hope to one day visit Japan, and hope that if that day comes, I can show my kamon to you with pride.
Oh, so that's what these are called! I always thought old Japanese logos were ahead of their time. I actually (unintentionally) designed one with a similar aesthetic for my future startup already, so I guess I'm set.
Love this episode.Thank You! Kamons till 16 century reminds me of European noble crest. And later they become something like very elegant brand. Would love to design my own kamon.
Yooooo, a fellow Michigander! Hello from a native Michigander who's learning Japanese. This video was a lucky algorithm find, super interesting stuff, thank you for making it and I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel.
I see. I live near a Japanese cemetery, and I visit there regularly (no one visits their grandparents here, someone has to go visit), and I noticed a while ago that gravestone after gravestone had the downward wisteria crest, exactly like the one on your kimono. I wondered why, and I asked some Japanese friends and friends who studied in Japan, but none of them knew. It seems like it's a very popular kamon, and particularly with the people who moved to the west coast of the United States.
Shogo is wearing a Fujiwara crest. Fujiwara clan famously married their daughters into the Imperial Family allowing them control of the Heian court for 200 years. - Linfamy
@@jeraldbaxter3532 He could be as the Fujiwara were more political monks more than anything and were not on the mainland which my point is that they were not in the hardest battles that raged across Japan at that time period so it is possible he could be.
Thank you for the informative video. I was excited to see you wearing my Great grandmother's family crest! Her family where landlords in the Hiroshima area.
If I had to pick one, I'd have to go with the Tomoe. It has it's associations with Hachimon, war, archery, and was used by Musashi, as well as being similar in ways to the Celtic symbolism.
I'm so glad I subscribed, I've been really into researching kamon in the past couple of days and you upload this video just on time! Thank you so much!
Would you think of an non-Japanese iaido practitioner as rude for wearing a Kimono with a Kamon? I would love to have a Kamon based on the wolf (a family symbol of mine) but I don't wish to offend anyone in having such.
Thank you for the well scripted well edited videos. Very easy to digest even with the expansive history of these crests. Really enjoying your channel!! Please make more yokai videos if possible!
When my brother was born, my grandpa was so excited for his first (and only) grandson, that he ordered a custom made samurai armor with our kamon on it.
My male ancestry can be traced back to the Genji clan of the Heian period (and of course to Izanagi-no-mikoto and Amano-minaka-nushi ^^), but for some reason the Taira (Heike) clan's Agehachou has been used since the early Edo period. This may be because they served Nobunaga Oda, who regards himself as Taira clan (Heike).
You could. Japanese people will probably know it's not a traditional kamon, but you are absolutely allowed to make a new one based on something that has significant meaning for you. Make sure to write down the blueprint of how to get the geometric shapes exactly right every time, like a vector image, so stone masons, kimono dyeing craftsmen, and other people can recreate your kamon.
My ancestors are from Scotland, one side of my family crest is the Scottish thistle. Would love to have a Kamon with that in mind. Love your channel! !
I made an essay regarding Kamon from a design perspective during uni, I'm specifically amazed by how it was designed in modern days with modern tools by the Monsho Uwaeshi, how they preserved Kamon by turning it into beautiful modern art pieces. I believe in modern Japan, a lot of huge corporations used Kamon as their branding as some originated from a family business, Japanese lawyers, firefighters, and police badges may also have been inspired by Kamon.
Aloha from Hawai’i, I have been seeking information on our family kamon for a long time. It seems ours was adopted during Meiji period. We always thought this was presumptive behavior but today I learned it is completely acceptable and nothing to be ashamed of. I appreciate this so much. A very deep thanks to you and aloha.
Very enriching video Shogo. It got me wondering, would a foreign be "allowed" to create their own Kamon while in Japan (as visitors or expats)? Is there anyone that offers services to create a fully customized Kamon in their design, name and meaning?
You're making it hard to resist not vacating. Fortunately, I'm learning Japanese with the intent of over coming my fear of visiting a country that I don't speak the native language.
The Mokou-mon looks like the Tudor Rose in England, which was the white rose in the center of the red rose to symbolize the unification of the two fighting clans (the Lancaster-red rose and the Yorks-white rose)
A little confusion... Clovers _(genus Trifoliumm)_ have oval/round leaves, whereas Wood Sorrel _(genus Oxalis)_ has the heart shaped leaves. Perhaps the kamon depicts wood sorrel rather than clover?
The last few moments where you're speaking naturally about your kimono are so much nicer to listen to! i'd love to hear more of this less scripted Shogo.
OMG i'm so hype for this video because my university graduation essay theme is about kamon! Most of this are on my essay 😂 I wish i know about how we can choose our kamon though. I want to put it on my essay but the source too vague and my lecturer denied it, maybe if the source is your video, she will accept it😆 all in all thank you so much for this video! My favourite kamon is Toyotomi's Pawlonia kamon because the leaf is so beautifully drawn 😆
I think I am just going to stick to my family's Kamon which fall under the sixth category, the pattern style crests. Though in the future I hope to design my own kamon that incorporates my family's kamon and the kamon of clans that are related to me by their branching off from the Ōe clan, just as my family's clan did.
Actually i take the dare, some years back, of design my own kamon as a logo for the traditional japonese dance group that i direct here. I make the investigation, do the sketch in Powerpoint and finally get a company to make it more professional and traditional. I would love to show it to you both and hear your thoughts about it. 🙇🏽♀️ Really interesting video as always, and my greetings to Tomoko San and family.
I live in Japan atm, and the impression I got from many westerners (but not specifically Japanese people themselves) is that a lot of parts of Japanese culture are strictly Not For You. You can experience the culture of course, but even if you live and work here for a long time, you're not allowed to 'have' anything from Japanese culture. So, it's kind of nice that if I really wanted to, I too could have a Kamon. I mean there's no legal basis to it, and while it has a lot of culture to it, its origins were humble and heck if a peasant from back in the day could get it, then I WILL TOO
My son-in-law is from Japan. I'll have to ask him what his families kamon is. You are so nice and your English is perfect. You speak English better than most people I know here in the state of Tennessee.
It's refreshing to see that there is video without the U.S. "cultural appropriation" bs. Somebody who is explaining their culture and encourageing everyone to join in and enjoy it.
traditionally my kamon would be two pigeons for clan "Kumagai " my great great grandfather was Kichimann Kumagai and he was Samurai in late edo early meiji period.
The Kamon i have chosen belonged to an illustrious Samurai family, in fact this family were around at the same time as the Tokugawa and the Oda, im talking about the Takeda, Takeda Shingen was the only Daimyo who could have stopped Ieyasu and Nobunaga, i have researched the Takeda from the time they were originally called Minamoto up to today, yes, the Takeda were not wiped out after Nagashino, they did in fact carry on and some of Shingens family fought at Sekigahara on the Tokugawa side. The great Takeda Shingen was not shot by a sniper, he did in fact die from a respiratory disease, most likely TB, at mikatagahara he soundly beat the Tokugawa and the 3000 troops Nobunaga sent, but for his illness he would have forced Ieyasu to either surrender or commit Seppuku, its an interesting concept, without the Tokugawa, Nobunaga would have been hard pressed to keep Shingen at bay, its hard to believe that Nobunaga would surrender and would commit seppuku, thats just a small amout of information i have been able to collect about the Takeda, i had a Katana made, and have Takeda Shingen engraved in Kanji on one side along wth the diamond crest, and on the other side i had Furin Kazan engraved, Shingen was extremely popular with his people, he made laws that prohibetted his Samurai from indiscriminately killing any of his peasents, and brought in a fine system instead..
I find it interesting that most of the kamon are based on small, humble plants and animals like butterflies and clover. I don’t know exactly why this is, but I think it highlights the beauty of little things so beautifully!
Hi there, my name is Kamon, my parents didn't know about Japanese Kamon when they named me, and we found out about them, in 2003. I loved to see the crests when I was in Japan 2016-2018.
I have my own Kamon. I'm a Japanese Chef and my Kamon is 3 knives in a Triangle in a Hexagon. They represent: My Past, Present, Future; My Gyuto, Deba and Yanagiba; Fire, Metal and Water (3 Elements needed to Cook)
My kamon is the Omodaka (victory plant). My father's relative in Okayama said the daimyo awarded this kamon to all his samurai. This is why many of the families around our family grave have the same kamon.
My paternal grandmother was from the Mackay clan. That has a hand wielding a dagger surrounded by a belt made into a circle. I'd love to convert this into a Kamon!
So basicaly a convergent evolution of european noble families family crests... just with less lions and unicorns... and more remembered... interesting.
Now I have to try to find out what my grandmother's Kamon was! One more thing I wish I asked her about before she passed. She said her father's side was landowners and her mother's side were Samarai. What class was landowners then? I haven't heard you mention that as a class so she must be referring to something else?
@@TemkaUwU Could a lesser branch of a samurai family also be a possibility? I thought the old system in Japan was quite strict about marrying outside of your designated social group? Less powerful samurai families or branches of families would certainly still own land, but perhaps be less skilled in martial arts or politically powerful? Marriages in olden times were more about forming alliances than love, after all...
@@purpleicicles not an expert but I'm pretty sure that even the lowest class of samurai didn't do garden work that's a job for a much lower class worker. After the Edo period class didn't matter all too much and samurai went "extinct" in the 1800s so a marriage between a person coming from a lawnmower family and a samurai family isn't unexpected
This video just ended up in my recommendation feed, really glad it did! I barely knew anything about kamon before this. Just the association with the family, hadn't realized it goes all the way back to the Hein period! Def subscribing
I was told that Japanese actually frown upon Westerners using already existing Kamon - but Shogo portrays it like a fun thing for everybody. So now I'm confused.
I just really like how the presentation of data you offer ( I'm really using this for my study 😁) 1 step :- major headings / main topics 2 step :- deep explanation with ( corresponding images or documents) 3 step :- back story / why ? This happened ( with personal opinion ) 4 step :-✨Today's Conclusion✨ I mean you're just really good at explaining.
Call me a weeabo, but I learn of samurai clan crests from a japanese children's show called Kamen Rider. In Oozu (OOO), I saw that family crest seen at 0:30 on two seperate occasions. Amazing video.
A! Shogo-sensei! Arigato gozaimas! This is a beautiful video. This video is both educational and fun. I'm extremely interested in ancient artifacts such as Kamon. Learning that me and Kikyo are permitted to enjoy a Kamon, without being offensive to Nihon tradition, is happy and exciting news.
I like the Katabami-mon it reminds me of a heart valve. And having survived multiple heart attacks it reminds me no matter how weak I feel I am stronger than I think.
●KAMON Stickers www.zazzle.com/kamon+stickers ●Tozando: KAMON Kimono Set tozandoshop.com/collections/iaido-uniform-sets/products/embu-uniform-set-heian-tailors-dogi-stiped-hakama?variant=34836704526469 ●Hiiragiya-Shinshichi: Where you can make KAMON items www.black-silk.com/contents/category/english/ ▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼ ruclips.net/video/nhEamHfzyyg/видео.html ▼Related videos in this channel▼ -Kyoto Hidden Gems ruclips.net/p/PLp... -[China & Japan] The complicated relationship between China & Japan through the story of our marriage! ruclips.net/video/Jb5jcTQ0T_0/видео.html -Japanese returnees react to “things that returnees do & experience”! Bullying & discrimination... ruclips.net/video/YtujuH4dEZI/видео.html ▼MY DREAM▼ ruclips.net/video/EgowIV_kagA/видео.html “To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in” I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more. ▼Join our Membership▼ ruclips.net/channel/UCn7D... ●Membership benefits -Limited behind-the-scene videos ruclips.net/user/playlist?list... -Weekly live stream -Priority reply to comments Every single yen we earn from this membership, we will be donating to groups of people who are fighting to solve social problems in Japan, the Japanese schools where foreign students can study, or use it to spread the works of people working with traditional culture in Japan to preserve the arts they are doing. ▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ ruclips.net/channel/UCZAe... Please subscribe!! The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores. Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments. ▼[Listen to the real voices of the Japanese] "Voices from Japan series"▼ ruclips.net/p/PLp... ▼[For YOU traveling to Kyoto] "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼ ruclips.net/p/PLp... ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_sh... *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠️I do not use e-mail） ▼Shogo’s profile▼ Hello everyone, and thank you for watching my videos! I’m Shogo, a Kyoto born & Hiroshima raised Japanese, that grew up in Michigan USA for 6 years, and studied Mandarin in Beijing university for a year! I live in Kyoto now, as I train in Iaido(katana), Sado(tea ceremony), and Noh theatre(traditional stage art). In this channel, you can take a closer look at Japanese traditional culture, tips on traveling to Kyoto, and social problems in Japan. So learners and lovers of Japanese language and culture, be sure to subscribe to enjoy more content! If you enjoyed this video, please hit the LIKE button, and share with your friends and family! My goal is “to achieve 1,000,000 subscribers by January 2023”, so your help would mean a lot!
Shogo im not sure if you know of Shoryu Hatoba he's a famous Kamon designer in Japan. Would be cool of all the followers knew about him. He even has videos in Japanology on RUclips!
@@outboundflight4455 honestly I’m super confused about it but our family name is Tabata. So the reason I’m confused is because I saw that my family kamon named other names like Miura and Ashina. The Kamon is essentially a circle with 3 med sized lines going horizontally through. But because it is not a well known Kamon I can’t find much info. 😂
I learned something new about kamon this morning. Thank you for a well done video. I have always admired how balanced many kamon look and I tend to like them more than European heraldry
It's very interesting to watch all the body language from the Japanese speaking present in a lecture given in English, it something only a Japanese person could accomplish in all the peoper and natural details of it, your lectures are so amazing sensei, thank you for the hard work...
Great content as always and great timing too for this to pop up in my recommended. Every time the paulownia in the backyard flowers, like it currently is, I think about kamon and Japanese artisan woodworking. Having studied Japanese, and back in my early printmaking days, I came up with a few plant based designs for personal kamon. I considered getting the design tattooed but never got inked. Over subsequent years I have played with other ideas for kamon and European heraldry.
It just now hit me that the logos for Mitsubishi and Toyota are actually just the family Kamon.
The Toyota logo we see today was invented in 1989. However there is a "Toyotomi" Kamon that has probably nothing to do with the Toyoda family exists. When you look closely at Sakichi Toyoda's kamon kimono in his wikipedia, it does have kamons on both sides that if my eyes don't deceive me, looks like the Ikeda clan kamon.
The mitsubishi logo is not exactly a kamon, but was built from 2 kamon: the one from the founder of mitsubishi - iwasaki family which where 3 losanges stacks on top of each other (each losanges representing a water chestnut). And the one from its first employer ( Tosa clan) which was three leafs positionned as the current logo is.
Fun fact, the name Mitsubishi came later after the logo and is a description of the logo: Mitsubishi = Mitsu Hishi = 3 water chestnuts.
@@EmmanuelLapierre That's not what I was told,. mitsu = 3 and ishi 石 = stone, jewel or precious stone....hence the 3 diamonds. Maza is also a family name changed from Matsuda because there is no tsu sound in English.
菱
Even the Triforce from Zelda was a famous family Kamon.
When the Japenese depicted George Washington around the time that America was new, they drew him wearing traditional Japenese garb, with the Tokugawa crest.
Thats some high respect.
They also may have depicted him fighting tigers...yeah that totally happened, I promise.
Ay yo what??? Like GW being the distant descendant of the matsudaira/Tokugawa clan
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 Because of what the Tokugawa represent. The ushering in of a new era, without the emperor...until the meiji restoration.
And also, unification.
@@jojothermidor "...without the emperor"
Which would be England's King what's-his-face in the 13 colonies' case
That and where the fuk did they get an idea of him fighting tigers??? Pretty sure those were UK tigers but does England have them in the first place (natively)???
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 england does not have tigers lmao
We need a coin with that image engraved on it
My family's crest is the mokou-mon, and was specifically handed down from mothers to their daughters. It's nice to be able to hear more about it and kamon in general
Are u japanese ?
@@ghonda2865 Yes. Many Japanese Americans have Western names. I have two sets of names, a Japanese given and clan name, and my American set. Plus I also know the clan she is referencing. I am related.
@@nrmnthompson Interesting. I'm also a japanese descendant my full Name is Gabriel Honda, but i dont know much about the culture. My Grandfather didn't taught us about many things since he wanted our family to adapt to western society. i'm From Brazil
@@ghonda2865 Nice to meet you. I am Norman Yukio Abe Thompson. I must say though, Brazil has the largest population of Japanese outside of Japan, and I am sad to say I dont know much about it.
Sheeesh
(They don't know im chinese heheheheh)
13:45 Suddenly I realize why Fire Emblem Three Houses put so much emphasis on Crests specifically. Sure, in that universe the Crests are brands with magical power not necessarily tied to specific families, but the connection between them and Kamon and the cultural influence is so obvious now.
They also work as a religious legitimation for power and various misdeeds.
That's why they are to blame.
hello, fellow Fire Emblem fan, I am here because of these Crests too >
Ohhhhh, I didn't even make that connection!
Real-life Europeans also used crests/symbols/kamons too! Although they were mostly restricted to royal and noble families.
For example, the Windors (Queen Elizabeth II's family) all have their various monograms personalized. And each regent (Reigning King or Queen) carries a symbolic crest which has all other past crests of the previous kings/queen regnant.
If you actually pay attention, most Japanese media has pretty obvious but deep connections to their culture, which obviously makes sense.
Shogo, let me say this: you're an excellent communicator.
It's very, very rare that I'll watch long videos all the way to the end, but I always watch yours.
I think your biggest quality is that you have a nice, clean structure and script, and so the length of your videos always feels justified. Contrast this with content creators that will drone on and waste a lot of time.
Congrats, man. Keep it up.
His job other than RUclips requires him to use effective communication.
This
Exactly like this. His videos are pretty smooth and has a sense of "cleanliness" that makes them enjoyable to watch, even for a longer period of time. And his way of speaking is so calm and well structured that I've even recommended his videos for people who are trying to learn english :)
Exactly like this. His videos are pretty smooth and have a sense of "cleanliness" that makes them enjoyable to watch, even for a longer period of time. And his way of speaking is so calm and well structured that I've even recommended his videos for people who are trying to learn english :)
Oh wow, 20 minutes is long? Maybe I’m wasting too much time on this app haha
Being born in the United States its always cool to find out more of my family's history in places I never expect. When my family immigrated well before I was born we had to loose alot of the Japanese identity and it was only exacerbated by WWII. One thing that did survive all of that was our kamon, the gozan no kiri, an image id see marked all over the place when it came to our family during my childhood. Kinda gives me that "small world" feeling seeing stuff like this.
Aww, I'm glad you have a little piece of your heritage with you!
An explanation.
A demonstration.
A practical application.
An after action recap.
This method of video is the best in the world.
Thank you for the video. Well done, sir.
I love kamon. I actually tried to create my own kamon that looks like the Yorkshire rose but in a Japanese style. Although I might try to create a few more versions of it. Amazing video Shogo, thank you so much :)
I’ve been trying to either find or come up with one my own. It’s been hard, it can’t be just anything. There should be something personal reflected in it.
That's a pretty cool idea. I'm considering making one now for my family but using the tropical Bougainvillea that grow around my hometown.
@@Shawshankdude2005 Yeah the meaning has to be the most important part of a kamon. The meaning I've assigned to the Yorkshire kamon is that most my family live and have grown up there but as has been said, meaning is the key part of kamon
@@outboundflight4455 That's also a really cool idea, as has been said, the connection is of course really important for kamon
There's a subreddit and an associated discord server about Kamon design. While it isn't exactly hopping, it's great to have people to exchange design thoughts with!
Your description of the use of the hollyhock plant reminds me of some of the motifs used in Scottish tartans (the plaid colours commonly seen in Scottish kilts, etc.).
For example: my mother's family, the MacKays, use a green and purple-blue hue that I always considered rather ugly as a child. I later learned that these colours were symbolic of (among other things) the thistle that grows in the clan's rugged, traditional homeland. Although the thistle is considered by many to be a weed, it grows in poor, rocky soil - places where more esteemed plants could never survive. Now, I don't feel so hesitant about using these clashing colours. :)
It's interesting to see the parallels between tartan and kamon. It's yet another reminder about how people are the same, all over the world.
The Katabami-mon looks like a shamrock to me! I’m of Irish ancestry, so it definitely has an appeal to me.
It literally is a shamrock
Yeah, it was the crest of ginger head samurai 😁
He says it's based off of a clover lol
Once i wrote an article about kamon, so i thought i learned a lot about this theme, but this video was surprisingly interesting. Never heared that Nobunaga used 7 kamons. Thanks for teaching us, Shogo!
Also a great thanks for naming kimono and kamon shops. I spent a lot of time to find kimono shop early...
I do actually use my familys crest, I discovered my connection to them that my family had kept hidden for a long time. I now use the crest of the Hosokawa family, its quite basic and hard to find items for but I am happy to represent my family
Why/how would your family hide that from you?
Perhaps my favorite kamon is Ishida's kamon, which is a calligraphy of sentence(?) that reads "dai ichi dai man dai kichi" which very roughly translates to "one for all and all for one and heaven bless the land"
Shogo seems like a Japanese Japanophile who has respect and understanding for non-Japanese Japanophiles. Cool guy and great channel!
When I trained in Iaido, we all used the Katabami-mon. After almost 20 ish years of training, I didn't know much about it. All I knew about it was then our head teacher was picking one to you to start his schools in England when his teacher said to use his. It will always have a special with me and I'm glad I now know a little more about it. Thank you for being a great teacher.
Being a practitioner of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, I've generally used the Nigasa for things. I've got a montsuki with it that I wear for embu or formal events. When my sensei got married, he double checked with his sensei that it'd be appropriate for him to have the kamon on his kimono.
I wanted to adopt a Japanese kamon, but one adopted me instead and it is called Maruni Tsurukashiwa. I have an old Nobori with this kamon on it. The nobori is from late sengoku to early Edo. I also came across the same kamon in 10k gold pendant form and I’ve had them for 2 almost 3 years now.🌸
I've had an idea for a kamon of my own since summer of 1992, after having becoming interested in Japanese culture and history. I was five at the time, so forgive the apparent silliness of the design. It consists of only three parts: A crescent moon with the tips pointed upwards, a pair of katana resting crossed atop the moon, and a rokakku shuriken hovering just above the katana. It's a design that in my eyes represented three things that to this day, I consider the core of my love of Japan. The moon represents purity of the soul, such as what one would seek from a pilgrimage of the shrines that dot the land. The paired katana represent honor, justice, and the bushido code (which inspires me to be the best I can be). And the rokakku shuriken represenst loyalty, and is a reminder of one's mortality.
"None can live eternally, so live your life to the best of your ability, but strive to remain kind, just, honorable, and loyal." This is the creed of my kamon, and I try my best to uphold it, though it can be difficult at times. Shogo-San, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my kamon and its creed. Even though I'm American, I hope to one day visit Japan, and hope that if that day comes, I can show my kamon to you with pride.
Oh, so that's what these are called! I always thought old Japanese logos were ahead of their time. I actually (unintentionally) designed one with a similar aesthetic for my future startup already, so I guess I'm set.
Finally…my misunderstanding of kamon is end😆…actually my favourite kamon is on plant categories…because they represent “lucky and peace full” things
I hope there will soon be a Reiwa Restoration, so that I finally can visit Japan again :)
I'm so proud of myself for understanding this 😂
The Kamon emblems reveals so much of what I admire about Japanese art. Its clean simplicity, yet stylized elegance.
Love this episode.Thank You!
Kamons till 16 century reminds me of European noble crest. And later they become something like very elegant brand. Would love to design my own kamon.
Yooooo, a fellow Michigander! Hello from a native Michigander who's learning Japanese. This video was a lucky algorithm find, super interesting stuff, thank you for making it and I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel.
I see. I live near a Japanese cemetery, and I visit there regularly (no one visits their grandparents here, someone has to go visit), and I noticed a while ago that gravestone after gravestone had the downward wisteria crest, exactly like the one on your kimono. I wondered why, and I asked some Japanese friends and friends who studied in Japan, but none of them knew. It seems like it's a very popular kamon, and particularly with the people who moved to the west coast of the United States.
Shogo is wearing a Fujiwara crest.
Fujiwara clan famously married their daughters into the Imperial Family allowing them control of the Heian court for 200 years.
- Linfamy
Thank you! I noticed that and am wondering if he is a member of the Fujiwara family \clan.
@@jeraldbaxter3532 He could be as the Fujiwara were more political monks more than anything and were not on the mainland which my point is that they were not in the hardest battles that raged across Japan at that time period so it is possible he could be.
Kamon have also influenced the West. The Louis Vuitton emblem and the Imperial emblem in Star Wars were inspired by Kamon.
For those who are unaware, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu are known as the 'Three Great Unifiers of Japan'.
Thank you for the informative video. I was excited to see you wearing my Great grandmother's family crest! Her family where landlords in the Hiroshima area.
If I had to pick one, I'd have to go with the Tomoe. It has it's associations with Hachimon, war, archery, and was used by Musashi, as well as being similar in ways to the Celtic symbolism.
I'm so glad I subscribed, I've been really into researching kamon in the past couple of days and you upload this video just on time! Thank you so much!
I like the Ikeda's kamon.
The butterfly pattern is cool.
Sometimes history is so interesting and the world’s pool of knowledge so vast that one is aghast with where to start.
Right?! As a history lover, I know I’ll never fully grasp everything there is about just one single culture!
Would you think of an non-Japanese iaido practitioner as rude for wearing a Kimono with a Kamon? I would love to have a Kamon based on the wolf (a family symbol of mine) but I don't wish to offend anyone in having such.
We wear Gi and Hakama with no issue.
Thank you for the well scripted well edited videos. Very easy to digest even with the expansive history of these crests. Really enjoying your channel!! Please make more yokai videos if possible!
This video is so awesome; thank you Shogo-San for teaching us so much!
Thank you Shogo, you’ve been covering so many interesting ares of Japanese culture & history. Well narrated and well edited.
these videos give me asmr, your voice is so nice and enjoyable to listen to
your storytelling abilities are amazing! your videos are so educational and interesting to watch
Favorite kamon... I always thought the Azai clan crest with the 3 kikko was aesthetically pleasing. You're getting more and more popular, Shogo!
When my brother was born, my grandpa was so excited for his first (and only) grandson, that he ordered a custom made samurai armor with our kamon on it.
Child-sized?
My male ancestry can be traced back to the Genji clan of the Heian period (and of course to Izanagi-no-mikoto and Amano-minaka-nushi ^^), but for some reason the Taira (Heike) clan's Agehachou has been used since the early Edo period. This may be because they served Nobunaga Oda, who regards himself as Taira clan (Heike).
Wow, I wish I could trace back my family lineage that far!
The oda mokko is perfection in beauty, simplicity and recognizability.
could i make a kamon using a beyblade ???
You could. Japanese people will probably know it's not a traditional kamon, but you are absolutely allowed to make a new one based on something that has significant meaning for you. Make sure to write down the blueprint of how to get the geometric shapes exactly right every time, like a vector image, so stone masons, kimono dyeing craftsmen, and other people can recreate your kamon.
Love your videos what I like most about your culture is the tradition and perfection of the work that people do❤😊
My ancestors are from Scotland, one side of my family crest is the Scottish thistle. Would love to have a Kamon with that in mind. Love your channel!
!
Same! Would love to see if there is an existing kamon featuring this noble flower!
I made an essay regarding Kamon from a design perspective during uni,
I'm specifically amazed by how it was designed in modern days with modern tools by the Monsho Uwaeshi, how they preserved Kamon by turning it into beautiful modern art pieces. I believe in modern Japan, a lot of huge corporations used Kamon as their branding as some originated from a family business, Japanese lawyers, firefighters, and police badges may also have been inspired by Kamon.
9:26 this is kind weird to me as a Chinese, it’s like using a US dollar bill as ur family crest.
😂✋
It's the same in Scotland, we have our own clan crests too. Mines is just a bell and a sword, bit predictable but it works.
That’s still cool though!
Nahh fam, I don't want anyone else's Kamon, I want my OWN kamon. Something I made.
Aloha from Hawai’i, I have been seeking information on our family kamon for a long time. It seems ours was adopted during Meiji period. We always thought this was presumptive behavior but today I learned it is completely acceptable and nothing to be ashamed of. I appreciate this so much. A very deep thanks to you and aloha.
Very enriching video Shogo. It got me wondering, would a foreign be "allowed" to create their own Kamon while in Japan (as visitors or expats)? Is there anyone that offers services to create a fully customized Kamon in their design, name and meaning?
You're making it hard to resist not vacating. Fortunately, I'm learning Japanese with the intent of over coming my fear of visiting a country that I don't speak the native language.
The Mokou-mon looks like the Tudor Rose in England, which was the white rose in the center of the red rose to symbolize the unification of the two fighting clans (the Lancaster-red rose and the Yorks-white rose)
A little confusion...
Clovers _(genus Trifoliumm)_ have oval/round leaves, whereas
Wood Sorrel _(genus Oxalis)_ has the heart shaped leaves.
Perhaps the kamon depicts wood sorrel rather than clover?
The last few moments where you're speaking naturally about your kimono are so much nicer to listen to! i'd love to hear more of this less scripted Shogo.
A crazy rabbit hole i found from old antiques led me here, and I don’t wanna climb out. This is sick stuff.
This kinda makes me wanna create my own kamon for my family even tho we aren't Japanese😆
your pride in your rich culture beams in each video you present to us. thanks.
OMG i'm so hype for this video because my university graduation essay theme is about kamon! Most of this are on my essay 😂 I wish i know about how we can choose our kamon though. I want to put it on my essay but the source too vague and my lecturer denied it, maybe if the source is your video, she will accept it😆 all in all thank you so much for this video! My favourite kamon is Toyotomi's Pawlonia kamon because the leaf is so beautifully drawn 😆
Ghost Of Tsushima is subtle but once you know it's very apparent that even Jin Sakai's Kamon helps to tell it's story.
the thing is that CAN u make your own kamon tho?
This is soooo interesting. I hadn’t even thought of the history of kamon.
I think I am just going to stick to my family's Kamon which fall under the sixth category, the pattern style crests. Though in the future I hope to design my own kamon that incorporates my family's kamon and the kamon of clans that are related to me by their branching off from the Ōe clan, just as my family's clan did.
Wow, you've got such a fascinating history!
Kikusui, in my humble opinion, is the most beautiful and profound kamon.
Actually i take the dare, some years back, of design my own kamon as a logo for the traditional japonese dance group that i direct here. I make the investigation, do the sketch in Powerpoint and finally get a company to make it more professional and traditional. I would love to show it to you both and hear your thoughts about it. 🙇🏽♀️ Really interesting video as always, and my greetings to Tomoko San and family.
I live in Japan atm, and the impression I got from many westerners (but not specifically Japanese people themselves) is that a lot of parts of Japanese culture are strictly Not For You. You can experience the culture of course, but even if you live and work here for a long time, you're not allowed to 'have' anything from Japanese culture.
So, it's kind of nice that if I really wanted to, I too could have a Kamon. I mean there's no legal basis to it, and while it has a lot of culture to it, its origins were humble and heck if a peasant from back in the day could get it, then I WILL TOO
My son-in-law is from Japan. I'll have to ask him what his families kamon is. You are so nice and your English is perfect. You speak English better than most people I know here in the state of Tennessee.
It's refreshing to see that there is video without the U.S. "cultural appropriation" bs. Somebody who is explaining their culture and encourageing everyone to join in and enjoy it.
traditionally my kamon would be two pigeons for clan "Kumagai " my great great grandfather was Kichimann Kumagai and he was Samurai in late edo early meiji period.
The Kamon i have chosen belonged to an illustrious Samurai family, in fact this family were around at the same time as the Tokugawa and the Oda, im talking about the Takeda, Takeda Shingen was the only Daimyo who could have stopped Ieyasu and Nobunaga, i have researched the Takeda from the time they were originally called Minamoto up to today, yes, the Takeda were not wiped out after Nagashino, they did in fact carry on and some of Shingens family fought at Sekigahara on the Tokugawa side.
The great Takeda Shingen was not shot by a sniper, he did in fact die from a respiratory disease, most likely TB, at mikatagahara he soundly beat the Tokugawa and the 3000 troops Nobunaga sent, but for his illness he would have forced Ieyasu to either surrender or commit Seppuku, its an interesting concept, without the Tokugawa, Nobunaga would have been hard pressed to keep Shingen at bay, its hard to believe that Nobunaga would surrender and would commit seppuku, thats just a small amout of information i have been able to collect about the Takeda, i had a Katana made, and have Takeda Shingen engraved in Kanji on one side along wth the diamond crest, and on the other side i had Furin Kazan engraved, Shingen was extremely popular with his people, he made laws that prohibetted his Samurai from indiscriminately killing any of his peasents, and brought in a fine system instead..
I find it interesting that most of the kamon are based on small, humble plants and animals like butterflies and clover. I don’t know exactly why this is, but I think it highlights the beauty of little things so beautifully!
Hi there, my name is Kamon, my parents didn't know about Japanese Kamon when they named me, and we found out about them, in 2003. I loved to see the crests when I was in Japan 2016-2018.
I have my own Kamon. I'm a Japanese Chef and my Kamon is 3 knives in a Triangle in a Hexagon.
They represent: My Past, Present, Future; My Gyuto, Deba and Yanagiba; Fire, Metal and Water (3 Elements needed to Cook)
Once upon a time, there were 3 clan family with 3 different KAMON of each there are Rock✊, Paper📃 and Scissor✂. Sounded like a Mr.Yamaguchi 😜
Oh “KAMON” man, you’ve definitely won the internet today 😂😂😂
@@nnaeole 🤣🤣🤣
eh tbh you just referring to genpei war which involves three families: Taira,Minamoto,Fujiwara
@@Real_British Oh really!!!! Let me googling
My kamon is the Omodaka (victory plant). My father's relative in Okayama said the daimyo awarded this kamon to all his samurai. This is why many of the families around our family grave have the same kamon.
My paternal grandmother was from the Mackay clan. That has a hand wielding a dagger surrounded by a belt made into a circle. I'd love to convert this into a Kamon!
Kamon sounds like the OG NFT
So basicaly a convergent evolution of european noble families family crests... just with less lions and unicorns... and more remembered... interesting.
One hell of a channel name you got there mate.
Now I have to try to find out what my grandmother's Kamon was! One more thing I wish I asked her about before she passed. She said her father's side was landowners and her mother's side were Samarai. What class was landowners then? I haven't heard you mention that as a class so she must be referring to something else?
Landmowers were farmers so probably someone lower class
@@TemkaUwU Could a lesser branch of a samurai family also be a possibility? I thought the old system in Japan was quite strict about marrying outside of your designated social group? Less powerful samurai families or branches of families would certainly still own land, but perhaps be less skilled in martial arts or politically powerful? Marriages in olden times were more about forming alliances than love, after all...
@@purpleicicles not an expert but I'm pretty sure that even the lowest class of samurai didn't do garden work that's a job for a much lower class worker.
After the Edo period class didn't matter all too much and samurai went "extinct" in the 1800s so a marriage between a person coming from a lawnmower family and a samurai family isn't unexpected
@@TemkaUwU Ah, I see! Thank you!
This video just ended up in my recommendation feed, really glad it did!
I barely knew anything about kamon before this. Just the association with the family, hadn't realized it goes all the way back to the Hein period!
Def subscribing
If you want to learn Japanesse history and culture. I found this is the best channel. Better than history book you learned at school
I was told that Japanese actually frown upon Westerners using already existing Kamon - but Shogo portrays it like a fun thing for everybody. So now I'm confused.
My favourite kamon is the 1 from Tokugawa Ieyusu, because it's on my first Katana. It was build in Japan
ah yes, that time when "Japan opened his doors to the world 😇"
Lmao, is that how we call gunboat diplomacy these days?
*Evil laughter*
Omg!!! Thank you for finding this Crest known as kuginuki mon! My family had this Crest! Now I can look up more about it! Thank you again!!! XD
I just really like how the presentation of data you offer ( I'm really using this for my study 😁)
1 step :- major headings / main topics
2 step :- deep explanation with ( corresponding images or documents)
3 step :- back story / why ? This happened ( with personal opinion )
4 step :-✨Today's Conclusion✨
I mean you're just really good at explaining.
Call me a weeabo, but I learn of samurai clan crests from a japanese children's show called Kamen Rider.
In Oozu (OOO), I saw that family crest seen at 0:30 on two seperate occasions.
Amazing video.
A! Shogo-sensei! Arigato gozaimas! This is a beautiful video. This video is both educational and fun. I'm extremely interested in ancient artifacts such as Kamon. Learning that me and Kikyo are permitted to enjoy a Kamon, without being offensive to Nihon tradition, is happy and exciting news.
I like the Katabami-mon it reminds me of a heart valve. And having survived multiple heart attacks it reminds me no matter how weak I feel I am stronger than I think.
●KAMON Stickers
www.zazzle.com/kamon+stickers
●Tozando: KAMON Kimono Set
tozandoshop.com/collections/iaido-uniform-sets/products/embu-uniform-set-heian-tailors-dogi-stiped-hakama?variant=34836704526469
●Hiiragiya-Shinshichi: Where you can make KAMON items
www.black-silk.com/contents/category/english/
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I’m Shogo, a Kyoto born & Hiroshima raised Japanese, that grew up in Michigan USA for 6 years, and studied Mandarin in Beijing university for a year! I live in Kyoto now, as I train in Iaido(katana), Sado(tea ceremony), and Noh theatre(traditional stage art).
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Shogo im not sure if you know of Shoryu Hatoba he's a famous Kamon designer in Japan. Would be cool of all the followers knew about him. He even has videos in Japanology on RUclips!
I actually know my family’s Kamon and it has been in my family throughout the samurai times.
if you move to japan, can you design your own original kamon?
@@mileszeze9824 what does it look like? Does it have a name?
@@outboundflight4455 honestly I’m super confused about it but our family name is Tabata. So the reason I’m confused is because I saw that my family kamon named other names like Miura and Ashina. The Kamon is essentially a circle with 3 med sized lines going horizontally through. But because it is not a well known Kamon I can’t find much info. 😂
Shout out to the sign designer! All the clicks, swishes, and choices are so cool
Kiri-mon club unite! Had no idea our family had an official kamon until just last year (lots of ink stamps/seals). Thanks for the info, Shogo-san!
I love how if you put three Tomos together they look like a shuriken
Thank you for the activity recommendation! I'm planning our Japan trip right now, so activity recommendations are GOLD 👍
I learned something new about kamon this morning. Thank you for a well done video. I have always admired how balanced many kamon look and I tend to like them more than European heraldry
It's very interesting to watch all the body language from the Japanese speaking present in a lecture given in English, it something only a Japanese person could accomplish in all the peoper and natural details of it, your lectures are so amazing sensei, thank you for the hard work...
Not sure if I commented on this video before but coming back to it, I think my favorite are either Nobunaga's or Hideyoshi's.
Great content as always and great timing too for this to pop up in my recommended. Every time the paulownia in the backyard flowers, like it currently is, I think about kamon and Japanese artisan woodworking.
Having studied Japanese, and back in my early printmaking days, I came up with a few plant based designs for personal kamon. I considered getting the design tattooed but never got inked. Over subsequent years I have played with other ideas for kamon and European heraldry.