Samurai Heraldry

by Stephen Turnbull

Tsugaru Nobuhira at Hirosaki Castle, 1610. The Tsugaru family became dominant in the far north of Japan, a position they strengthened by their support for the Tokugawa family at the time of Sekigahara. In this plate Tsugaru Nobuhira (1586-1631) marches proudly through the snow to take possession of his newly built castle of Hirosaki. The most prominent motif is his mon of a swastika, which appears in red on the jingasa helmets and breastplates of the lowly ashigaru, and in gold upon the red sashimono of the samurai. Red swastikas also appear on the numerous white nobori flags. The o uma jirushi uses different religious symbolism: a huge, gold-lacquered, three- dimensional shakujo, the metal-ringed rattle used by the itinerant members of a mountain-based Buddhist sect to drive wild animals away during their pilgrimages through the high country. The heavy standard is socketed and tied to the back of a strong soldier and steadied by extra ropes; note the double red sashimono of the rope men. Carried behind Tsugaru, wearing his characteristic antlered helmet, is his lesser standard, a flag bearing a gold disc on white. (© Osprey Publishing Limited, artwork by from Samurai Heraldry (Elite 82) by Stephen Turnbull)

The function of heraldry

Through the art and science of heraldry, the armies of different ages and different regions around the world have been able to distinguish friend from foe in the confusion of battle. The practices employed have ranged from the painting of simple patterns or devices on ancient warrior shields, through the embroidery of complex designs on associated sequences of regimental flags, to simplified divisional symbols painted on the hulls of modern tanks. Some form of heraldry is found in nearly every military society.

As well as merely identifying allies and opponents, the practice of heraldry has also performed the function of glorifying a particular individual by ensuring that his personal achievements were easily recognised. The extension of this has been the introduction of a hereditary element into heraldry, so that a warrior's descendants would always be associated with the exploits of a particular brave ancestor. In this sense, heraldry has rightly been called 'the shorthand of history'.

All these aspects of heraldry applied as readily to Japanese as to European military history. For many centuries Japan was a military society, and five hundred years of civil wars made the ability to distinguish at a glance allied armies from rival contingents a paramount necessity. The importance placed upon personal identification and display was also very great in a warrior society that prized individual achievement above all else – even, it would appear from some accounts, above the need to actually win battles. Even in the massive and well-organised encounters of the 16th century a samurai's personal prowess was still highly valued, and achievements such as being the first into battle or taking a noble opponent's head were as eagerly pursued as in a previous age.

In both these honourable examples the use of heraldic devices was a vital aid towards establishing the truth of a samurai's claim. During a siege the presence of a warrior's flags on an enemy castle wall proved who had been the first to fight his way in. During the head presentation ceremony that invariably followed a battle, two separate forms of heraldic identification aided the recognition of personal exploits. One was the identification of the victim, whose severed head was presented to the victorious samurai's lord as an invoice for reward. The other was confirmation by eyewitnesses that the particular samurai had actually killed the man whose head he was presenting. In both cases the heraldic flag or other device associated with either party was vital evidence.

Apart from this use of heraldry for the benefit of an individual in a samurai army, flags and colours were also a vital element in battlefield organisation. By the use of different coloured heraldic flags the separate units of an army could be identified and controlled. In addition, the prominent heraldic standards used by generals – called uma jirushi or 'horse insignia' – provided a rallying point on the battlefield.

The use of the mon

The best known features of Japanese heraldry are the devices called mon, which are usually simple yet elegant motifs based on plants, heavenly bodies, geometric shapes or, more rarely, animals. By their very simplicity mon are much more easily recognisable than European coats-of-arms, even if the European system of quartering and labels provides a more precise identification of an individual. Unlike a European blazon, however, the particular colour of a mon was never specified. They are usually depicted as black upon white or another light colour, or in white upon black or another dark coloured field. Particular colours were introduced in the design of the flags upon which the mon were most often displayed on the battlefield.

The direct parallel to mon in European heraldry is the badge, which was sewn on to a soldier's jacket and used for the same purpose of quick recognition; but as mon also served as the equivalent of the coat-of-arms, the layman's understanding of them as 'Japanese family crests' is not too wide of the mark. Mon often appear as the actual crest above the peak of a Japanese samurai's helmet, and are also seen on scabbard designs, on flags at shrines, or as a purely decorative element on clothing.

It should be noted that, unlike the quartering on a European knight's surcoat, mon did not always appear on the sleeveless jinbaori, which was the Japanese equivalent of the surcoat. This garment, which was used only by high-ranking samurai, and rarely while actually fighting, tended to be lavishly embroidered with designs that had no particular heraldic significance.

Mon were only part of the story of Japanese heraldry. Mon did not always appear on battle flags, because bands of contrasting colour sometimes provided all the identification that was necessary. From the 16th century onward the overall layout, colour and design of flags, from the large ones carried as standards to the smaller ones worn on the back of suits of armour, were prescribed as carefully as the mon, therefore adding another dimension to the study of samurai heraldry. Nevertheless, it was largely through his mon that an individual samurai and his family were known, regardless of what other symbols and designs they might have displayed in actual combat over the centuries.

(© Osprey Publishing. Extract taken from Samurai Heraldry ( Elite 82))