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Family crests of the Shinsengumi

Japan has a long history of using family crests, from the royal family to the nobles and samurai, and it has been recorded as early as the Heian period (794-1185). In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), samurai generally printed the family crest on their banners on the battlefield for identification. Gradually, the use and design of the crests were standardized, with plants, flowers, and objects. The composition is divided into geometric patterns, plant patterns, martial arts patterns, animal patterns, natural patterns, text, etc.

Entering the Edo period, the family crest has become a symbol of the samurai’s origin and prestige, and it is customary to wear a kimono embroidered with the family crest on solemn and formal occasions. At that time, except for the samurai class, ordinary people were not given a surname, so the crest became the symbol of their family clan.

The Shinsengumi members were no exception, each one had his own family crest:

Left to right: Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Sannan Keisuke, Serizawa Kamo, Okita Souji Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, Inoue Genzaburo, Todo Heisuke, Shimada Kai

Look closely and you’ll see that the armor on Hijikata Toshizo’s statue at Takahata Fudoson Temple is engraved with his family crest.

Saito Hajime, who had many names, wore a traditional kimono embroidered with his family crest when taking pictures in his later years.

In the Inoue Genzaburo Museum in Hino, his family crest is shown on top of the word “sincerity”.

If every family has a crest, will the design collide? Of course, there is no need to register the family crest in the past. Except for the emperor’s sixteen-petal chrysanthemum and the sun-moon pattern, any pattern can be used, and when the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu took office, the private use of the hollyhock pattern was strictly prohibited. By the way, the current Japanese passport also uses the 16-petal chrysanthemum as the national emblem. According to statistics, there are about 20,000 kinds of family crests. In ancient times, without a unified record system, families with the same crests were unavoidable, and it was even a common occurrence. Especially since the Edo period, commoners began to add family crests for their families. They are selected based on the crests of any noble warriors they consider as their ancestors.

The 16-leaf chrysanthemum on the Japanese passport

The Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, Sannan Keisuke, once discovered that the roof tiles of the Koenji Temple near the Yagi House were carved with the three-leaf tree crest, which was very similar to his own crest, and started a deep friendship after taking the initiative to talk with the temple owner. Serizawa Kamo’s family crest of a butterfly was the same as the family crest of the Heike family in the twelfth century. Their famous “Heike Monogatari” records the political struggles of Taira no Kiyomori and Taira no Munemori’s time (1156 to 1185). The crest of Hijikata Toshizo was also the same as the crest of Yamamoto Kansuke, a military commander of the Warring States Period in the 16th century, and military commander Takeda Shingen.

With the development of the times, the use of family crests in Japanese society is declining, but after all, the concept of family crests representing a family or a group of people is still imprinted in the hearts of Japanese people. Therefore, most companies will add their own crests to improve employees’ sense of belonging and teamwork in the company.

Cookies with the family crests of the main members of the Shinsengumi

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Checked ✅ ☺️

RuroKen Location Site Tour <1> Ninna-ji temple in Kyoto

Dear my followers,

If you ever have a chance to visit Japan, you’ll want to visit the places where Kenshin and all the other characters lived in the live action films.

So I’m going to show you where to visit in this ‘RuroKen Location Site Tour’ series.

Many tourists from abroad will go to Kyoto, so I’ll start with the location sites in Kyoto.

Now, here we go!

【CAUTION】

It may include spoilers to those who haven’t seen Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends.

Look at the map and go straight to place with the red circle!

This is the place where Kaoru met Kenshin for the first time in Rurouni Kenshin 1.

Please watch the trees closely and find the forked tree.

Kenshin fell to the ground with dango in his hand there LOL

You can’t find the bulletin board where Battosai’s wanted poster was put up because it was set by construction coordinators.

In the Kyoto Inferno, Sanosuke fought Aoshi here.

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RYUJIN × GAYO DAEJEON 2023

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It's like a birthday present from me

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Maybe it's this edible, but this hit me hard

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