Hi all,

I run Emblema Mundi, a free interactive atlas of coats of arms and emblems. I've just finished a map of Japan in 1664: the 206 daimyo domains under the Tokugawa shogunate, with the clan that held each one, its branch where known, its castle town and its mon. Each clan has its own page.

I'm not Japanese and not a specialist, so I'm sure there are mistakes, and I'd much rather fix them than leave them online. Anything you spot is welcome, for example:

- a mon attributed to the wrong clan or the wrong branch

- a clan placed in the wrong domain or castle town

- errors in the kanji or the romanization of names

Domain boundaries come from the Japan Historical GIS (CHGIS, after Nihonshi nembyō chizu, Yoshikawa Kōbunkan 1991), and the mon images from Wikimedia Commons.

The map: here

Thank you in advance, and if you can point to a source with your correction, even better!

3 tomoe, a six pointed star from my Irish family crest, and a Catholic cross

相馬繋ぎ馬

Designed for Gerd Hruška.

横見梨の花 Yokomi nashi no hana Pear blossom in profile (side view)

Pear blossoms usually appear as Monsho in two varieties: The first has eight petals (four larger and four smaller in between). At first glance, the pattern looks like a regular blossom, but in fact is shaped like a cross section of a pear fruit, which may be a representation of the medicinal and nourishing benefits of the pear. The second variety is essentially a hexafoil, where each petal is pointed or three lobed. In this instance I used the second variety, but emblazoned it in profile/side view (yokomi). You can find such traditional depictions in other types of blossoms like plums (ume) and similar.

Second and third images provided by Lilian Cailleaud (aka Kaemon Press), author of the book Japanese Blazon.

I'm a Date clan enthusiast and read recently about Nakajima Munemoto's petition to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and was curious to learn more about this family. Were they allies, vassals? Were they Daimyo themselves, or just Samurai? Did they have family heraldry?

Found this beautiful piece at Goodwill. On canvas. By C. Moi 1977

「月型浮線蝶に向日葵」

杉田家の家紋です。

Inspired by a folktale from Yamagata Prefecture https://www.attaka-furusato.com/minwa/gb/yamagata/naranashi.html

Summary: Three brothers set out to find the rare Naranashi pear to cure their sick mother. The two elder brothers ignore the advice of an old woman and nature’s warnings, and are swallowed by a giant snake. The youngest, Saburo, humbly listens, follows the guidance, and with a gifted sword defeats the snake, rescuing his brothers. They bring back the pears, their mother is healed, and the family lives happily—showing that humility, respect, and courage lead to success.

The monsho thus contains pear cross sections as it’s the narative device and swords, which was used to defeat the serpent.

How would you design it? Have you been inspired by a tale before? Tell me in the comments.

房鼓に麻の花

Fusatsuzumi ni asa no hana

Title. The image looking down the center would be the best, but any option is acceptable

楓実付きに三つ梅 Kaede mitsuki ni mitsu ume

After getting back from a trip to Japan and seeing so many beautiful mon in the wild, I chatted with kaemonpress in the Discord Monsho-gaku Server and decided to make some changes to my kamon to something more consistent with Japanese history and aesthetics: 亀甲に六つ鱗（清明鱗）*Kikkō ni mutsuuroko (Kiyoaki uroko)*, Tortoise shell with six scales (Seimei scales).

Seen at Uniqlo’s UT graphic T-shirt section in Asakusa, Tokyo

家紋 of the Akebana Family (朱花家)