Kutsuwa

Identical to the Western symbol for the Sun Cross, the Kutsuwa is a medieval family crest in Japan.

Kamon: In Japan ka is a word meaning 'family', mon means 'crest', and this symbol is one such family crest. As with European heraldry, kamon were used especially in battle to identify individuals or members of a clan. They were first owned by the aristocracy and later rolled out to anyone associated with that community.

Kamon are still used in Japan, especially as decorations on formal kimono. As with Western heraldic arms, there are hundreds of different designs and the name of this particular kamon is kutsuwa.

The symbol was originally represented the shape of side rings on the bit (mouthpiece) of a horse's bridle. All this was a bit of a mystery for us until R P in Australia pointed out the shape was consistent with the common design of bit side rings in the Edo period.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Gyokushuu's 1834 print of a packhorse driver shows a pair of circular kutsuwa on a bit in a tarai (wooden tub).

R P also points out that "the kanji character for kutsuwa contains the symbol as well. It is constructed from the symbol for a carriage axle tip flanked with the characters for thread or rope either side – a pretty good picture of a bit and bridle!" and the rectangle at the bottom of the kanji represents a mouth.

Other old Japanese prints show the Shimazu samurai of Kagoshima also used the kutsuwa symbol.

The last samurai of Kagoshima was Saigo Takamori (1828-77). He is considered the very last warrior samurai of Japan and was the basis of the 2003 movie The Last Samurai. Saigo is seated in the picture (above) and the kutsuwa-mon is clearly seen in his banners.

Interestingly, Kagoshima was an early and significant centre for Christian activity. When Christianity was forced underground in Japan (see the brief potted history of Christianity in Japan), Christians developed a secret method to identify themselves to each other.

In the West, Christians who were forced into hiding used the Anchor Symbol as their secret identifying symbol. In Japan, they used the Kutsuwa symbol which resembles a Christian cross.