I have actually understood there's a list of "free" kamon crests, which you can use if you don't have your own (as foreigners etc.). My tea ceremony friends who have studied in Urasenke Senmongakkou at least had this procedure, when they had their first formal kimono sewn during their study time there.

Very interesting video! As a foreigner I feel relieved that I can wear my family crest without breaking any rule. This is probably my biggest fear: break a rule without knowing it 😅

Ideas for future videos: (obviously it's up to you if you want to do them) Whole day in kimono challenge: doing chores, gardening, cooking, etc. how to keep kimono clean, how to keep the sleeves out of the way, etc. Evolving styles of wearing kimono: the same kimono worn 1950s style, 1920s, 1890s, etc. 🙂❤️

What if you wear a random kimono with a crest, then a stranger taps you on the shoulder and says, "Cousin?" while pointing at his/her crest. 😂

"hey, you wanna marry me? i really like your family crest."

I'm Filipino, but I have Japanese ancestry through my maternal grandmother. This means my mother's side of the family has a kamon, only I don't know what it looks like (and probably won't know, since I don't know which Japanese family I descend from). Still, I find kamon (and other forms of symbolic identification, such as badges and coats of arms) interesting that I designed my own. I originally wanted to use the chrysanthemum as my crest, because it's one of my two favorite flowers. However, the chrysanthemum is the Imperial Family's crest and, although my design is slightly different, I decided not to use it. I also associate my family more with the hibiscus (my other favorite flower), so I decided to use that instead.

This is such a clear explanation, thank you!

This video answered all my questions and more, thank you very much!

This was such a great summary! I am so glad to find your channel! Thank you very much for your efforts.

Your videos are so informative. With much respect to you and the wonderful attention to detail and accepting and learning your husband’s language, lifestyle and heritage.

Excellent and informative! We know both our family's kamon. Thank you for the extremely informative explanation.

This was a really concise video, I've looked up a lot about kamons yet this puts my worries to rest, now I can wear my formal kimonos without worrying too much about their origin. Thank you :)

Amazing video again, as ever!

Very good information. I am impressed !!!!

This was a really interesting video, it reminds me about a lot of the conversations I have seen around things like Scottish tartans. There does seem to be more people who wear things like kilts who care about wearing the correct family tartan compared to kamon. This desire to wear the traditionally correct tartan seems to get even stronger outside of Scotland in places like the US where there is a large Scottish diaspora. Have you experience with how how people from the Japanese diaspora feel about wearing family kamon, or just people living in Japan itself?

The crest at the top of a tower is called the Saruman.

This kimono ensemble is so beautiful, and you look absolutely gorgeous in it! Did you make this kimono? I literally stumbled upon your channel by accident but I am learning so much, please continue to include more history and cultural insight in your videos if time permits you! =)

Thanks for this vedeo. I was actually wonderning how komon on used kimono (so obviously not custom made) work.

Oh yes! Please do your own kamon! Plus that'd be a very nice logo!

Thank you for all the Japanese terms and especially showing the "kanji" where can learn how to read/write.

That great to know. Yes. Thank you

しゃれ紋 must be something new. 初耳です！ Thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you for making this video, I had been wondering! My Japanese husband doesn't usually have a clear answer to this type of questions 😊

Wonderful video, thank you!! I love sharemon - I have seen some very beautiful ones in different colours. I remember a Japanese friend telling me they are a little less formal than dyed kamon, and the reason she gave is that dyed kamon are permanent, whereas the threads of sharemon can be picked out, making the kimono "uncrested" and less formal. But I'm not sure she was right :) One question, please. Are 3-kamon kimono still worn? If I recall correctly, you only find 3 kamon on some irotomesode, and I'm not sure when you would wear one like that. Thanks again!

Hi! I wanted to thank you thank you for this kamon video! You convinced me on the idea that it is ok to have a kamon as a foreigner. Well they’re not doing it anymore but the owners of the gofukuyasan I always go to in Fukuoka used to kinda pressure me about those kamon. Like they were highly suggesting that I should choose a kamon as formal chaseki kimono are supposed to have one kamon... or 3 can’t remember perhaps 3... But I was like woow I’m not doing that felt like I don’t know I guess unappropriate. They told me I should design my own then. At that time I was like ok that sounds cheap 🤣 not doing that either! But listening to you I really changed my mind! Maybe someday I’ll have the confidence to design my own!

I just bought an antique furisode with 5 kamon. I'm glad it wouldnt be weird for me to wear it!

Now to go design my own! Though it is HIGHLY tempting to just steal the Hojo credit as its basically a airforce... But since I created my family name, might as well create a credit to go with it (still need to make a European one as well). Thank you for your wonderful and knowledgable videos as always. You seem to always have the answer before I think to ask.

Great video, congratulations! a question: is it allowed to insert different kamon on the same kimono? If so, is there some sort of hierarchy among semon, dakimon and dakimon?

Hi there, can you use Kamon for business use/branding?? In particular the Tomoe?

There is a crest for the Matsunaga clan and it looks like a type of flower similar to the Toyotomi clan

Hi love your videos

What clan is the best in the samurai cleanse and what Crest is a good idea for a kimono for me

松永家の家紋気になる☺️

How do you make your own kimon? Is there way to order it from someone in Japan (like a patch you can sew on a klimono)? Or is there a way you can make your own outside of japan? Qujanaq! (Kalaallisut Greenlandic for thank you)!

May i ask you a question Can clan kamon be put on obi?i mean in the front side

Hi! Could you share more about that survey? Where I can find it?

hello Billy !! excellent video👏👏 !! I did not know there were so many family crest!! I have a montsuki kimono but there is no crest I had been offered to put an but I did not accept😥

Hi! Excellent video! 👏😃 I was actually looking for my Kamon crest family Yanagi. Do you know where can I find it? I was looking on google but didn’t find the simbol. Thanks for your help!

Hello, thank you for this informative video. I admin the Kamon discussion page on facebook. I study the older history of Kamon (Mondokoro) on a daily basis. I know that many mondokoro have evolved from the beginning. An example being the Paulownia. There are 7-5 and 5-3 flower configurations. From what I understand these changes came about because, over time the granting of other families to use the mon, began to dilute the uniqueness and so the parent family would modify their original mon to differentiate themselves. Or subsequent generations would take the family mon and make it their own by making slight changes to it. Is that in line with what you know? ALSO, 2nd question. Some mon have an outer ring or maruni. I think I heard somewhere that the maruni was added to a mon by the grantor to be used by a vassal or subordinate clan in order to differentiate that lower clan. Is that true? Domo arigato Mike

question: can i embroid date clan's mon and attach it to my plain black haori and kimono?... as. i am planning to make montsuki set.. i only have plain black kimono and plain black haori and the hakama (that is white and has black stripes)

It´s very relieving to know that we can wear various family crests nowadays and funny-interesting how few apanese people were aware about their own crests. I also find is very fascinating to create an own one and I also recieved one, which i dearly love.

I´ve just discovered the kamon my haori has is a hinatamon :)

My family has a kamon maybe the only reason is because my great grandma told my grandma we were related to samurai but my distant uncle was related to samurai family but I’m trying to find mine

I want to ask a question and I hope you could answer. I practice Muso jikiden eishin ryu Iaido, and we have a kamon for our lineage. Looking around, I found a kamon for the Mimura clan, and from what i could find on it, there is only one small difference between the two. I was wondering if the two, or other kamon that look mostly alike, are related to one another, or if its just a case of "hey, that looks pretty cool, I'll take it."?

I have a couple questions: 1. Can kamon be used on a yukata? 2. I've read that some Japanese families adopt their daughters' husbands into her family (to keep the family surname or for whichever reason). In these instances, does the husband adopt the wife's (or father-in-law's) kamon or does the wife still have to take on the husband's kamon?

That’s very interesting & insightful. I probably wouldn’t wear a kimono with someone’s family crest just because it would feel odd for me to do so. I guess the family crest being something that most people don’t pay much mind to any more is quite universal these days. I don’t think most Europeans know their family crest either or if their family even has one. I know I have seen my family crest once and I couldn’t tell you what it is exactly - I’d have to look it up. The idea of designing your own sounds pretty cool though!

what is the matsunaga kamon? i would love to learn my family history

Can you wear the family crest on the back of the Obi?

So, it can be Said that kamon aré Common?

I heard that iro tomesode can have either 1,3 or 5 kamon depending on formality. So it isn't true then?

Are kamon registered designs? Meaning are they copyrighted?

Kamon aren't the same thing as like heraldry in Europe. The reason why it's not really that big of a deal to not know you're families crest is that anyone at any time can decided to change their crest or even make up their own. Many companies have made their own crests. For the families that do know their crests they might not because it's a family thing but they the option to change it if they wanted is there and they aren't 'locked' into one crest no matter what. So the people that don't know what their family crest used to be, aren't pressured into trying to hold on to a specific one, they can just choose or make a new one. My kamon that I've chosen to stick with due to how my grandmother described it is the kido giku, also known as the maru ni yatsu giku. We don't have any other items with our crest on it and she could only describe it vaguely, but I chose the closest one despite it probably not being the exact one. I could completely change it if I wanted but the kido giku is really nice and pretty unique. ^^'

Your accent is super interesting, where are you from and where did you grow up?

Matsunaga San, Apart from the Kamon size, for men, where is the placement? Is it just on the left and right upper chest area? Thank you

I heard you could have one made and have it registered for your family if you're a Japanese citizen

Wow, the kamon is like my native american clan symbols

How to find out my family crest?

you look like the white girl main character from Big Trouble in Little China in this video. I like the Taira clan myself I painting a two panel portrait of Taira no Masakado right now.

Are black kimono's only worn when you're going to attend a funeral?

So men can only wear short coats (haori) and no long kimono?

To be honest, i don't know my family Kamon either. My surname is Igarashi but my family didn't mentioned to me about our family crest. I looked in the internet and I can't find it either. Maybe we don't have one?

so i shouldnt get the matsunaga crest tattoed on my body? Im a 30 year old white guy from canada🤷‍♂

Have you created your own crest?

And for foreigners how would be possible to create a kamon?

The kanji for dakimon is wrong.

semon ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Can man have a bow on their kimono 🤔

Toyotomi Clan

I gave u 666 likes haha funny. Seriously though, thank you.

Any crest is OK though, better avoid chrysanthemum. Looks stupid.