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| In country districts the inhabitants of a single
village were sometimes all called by the same name. The Chinese fashion
of using a substitute name, azana, was
often used by artists, monks and aristocrats. Posthumous names were
also often given to noted individuals. |
Male children were usually named according to their
order of birth;
Ichiro (first son), Jiro,
Saburo, Shiro,
Goro etc (second, third, fourth & fifth).
For girls, the custom was to name them after flowers, qualities or
objects;
Kiku (chrysanthemum), Yuki
(snow), Toshi (goodness). |
Mon
The samurai class possessed a mon, a simple symbol which their vassals
also wore (commoners were not entitled to one). High ranking officers
would often sign documents or poems with their blood, this would confer
great value to the item. |
Kamon
The kamon is a (white on black) family Crest. It originated during
the Heian period when courtiers chose to
decorate their carriages and household items with an emblem. Ownership
of such a crest was restricted to the elite.
High ranking samurai of the Kamakura period
used kamon on the battlefield as a means of recognising friends or
foe. Restrictions were lowered during the Edo period, with kabuki
actors, townsmen and even courtesans adopting kamon. After the Meiji
Restoration, 1868, everyone took a surname and anyone could have a
kamon. |
| There are some 400 basic types of kamon,
divided into eight categories: |
| 1 |
Plants & flowers |
2 |
Buildings & objects |
Wild cherry
kamon |
| 3 |
Animals, birds &
insects. |
4 |
Elements of Nature. |
|
5 |
Geometric shapes
& characters |
6 |
Shrines & temples
|
| 7 |
Those for actors |
8 |
Collected crests
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