Mon Compendium
Overview
By Pattern
- Animal
- Bird
- Character
- Circle
- Diamond
- Enclosure
- Fan
- Feather
- Flower
- Flowerpot
- Geometric
- In Annulo
- In Fess
- Insect
- Knot
- Ladder
- Leaf
- Multicolor
- Paulownia
- Plant
- Semy
- Swastika
- Tomoe
- Tool
- Wheel
By Tag
- Bamboo
- Bellflower
- Bud
- Butterfly
- Character
- Chrysanthemum
- Circle
- Diamond
- Disc
- Fan
- Feather
- Five
- Flower (other)
- Gentian
- Gourd
- Half
- Hawk
- Hollyhock
- Knot
- Ladder
- Line
- Melon
- Nine
- Octagon
- One
- Paulownia
- Peace
- Pine
- Plover
- Restricted Mon
- Six
- Sixteen
- Star
- Swastika
- Three
- Tomoe
- Tool
- Two
- Wheel
Other Views
Recommended Reading
- Stephen Turnbull. Samurai Heraldry. Osprey Publishing, 2002. (excellent English intro with dates and usage information)
- John W. Dower. The Elements of Japanese Design: A Handbook of Family Crests, Heraldry & Symbolism. Shambhala Publications, 1990. (explains the symbolism and brief histories of many crests, but light on details)
- An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Japanese Family Crests. Graphic-sha, 2001. (one of many mon collections; this one has good variety and crest names in both kanji and kana)
Links
- Historical Resources
- English
- An Online Japanese Miscellany
- Famous Historical Kamon
- Sengoku Biographical Dictionary includes some kamon
- Samurai Banners at The Samurai Archives Japanese History Page
- A Roll of Japanese Armory by Solveig Throndardottir
- Japanese
- Crest Japan (has a few historical mon and some more modern)
- Kamon World (some history and a variety of other mon info)
- Primary Sources
- Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan
- 御馬印 (Battle Standards), a collection of drawings of battle standards from 1624–1644.
- Modern Resources
- Japanese
- 神紋 (Shrine Mon): focuses on mon for Shintō Shrines
- 家紋のデザインについて (About Family Crest Design): large variety of mon
