Imperial crest of Japan

The imperial crest of Japan, most commonly known in English and Japanese as the chrysanthemum crest (菊紋, kikumon), and also known as the chrysanthemum flower crest (菊花紋, 菊花紋章, kikukamon, kikukamonshō), imperial chrysanthemum crest (菊の御紋, kikunogomon), and less commonly the imperial emblem or imperial seal^[a] is the mon used by the emperor of Japan and members of the Imperial Family.

Imperial crest of Japan
Versions
16 Single-layered chrysanthemum
Armiger	Emperor, emperor emeritus, and inner-court member of the Imperial family [ja]
Adopted	13th century October 21 1926

It is one of the national emblems of Japan and is used in a manner similar to a national coat of arms of Japan, e.g., on Japanese passports. The Japanese government uses a different emblem, the Paulownia crest.

History

During the Meiji period (1868–1912), no one was permitted to use the imperial crest except the Emperor of Japan, who used a 16-petalled chrysanthemum with sixteen tips of another row of petals showing behind the first row. Therefore, each member of the Imperial family used a slightly modified version of the seal. Shinto shrines either displayed the imperial seal or incorporated elements of the seal into their own tag.

Earlier in Japanese history, when Emperor Go-Daigo, who tried to break the power of the shogunate in 1333, was exiled, he adopted the seventeen-petalled chrysanthemum in order to differentiate himself from the Northern Court's Emperor Kōgon, who kept the imperial 16-petalled mon.^{[citation needed]}

Description

The emblem of the Prime minister. "'Gonshichi paulownia flower crest" has been used as a coat of arms by the Imperial family and government officials throughout history, and is used as a coat of arms by the prime minister, the Government of Japan, and the Cabinet.

The symbol is a yellow or orange chrysanthemum with black or red outlines and background. A central disc is surrounded by a front set of 16 petals. A rear set of 16 petals are half staggered in relation to the front set and are visible at the edges of the flower. An example of the chrysanthemum being used is in the badge for the Order of the Chrysanthemum.

Other members of the Imperial Family use a version with 14 single petals, while a form with 16 single petals is used for orders, passports, Diet members' pins, and other items that carry or represent the authority of the Emperor. The Imperial crest is also used on the standards of the Imperial Family.^[1]

Gallery

• 
  Imperial crest emblazoned on the cover of a Japanese passport
• 
  Imperial Throne of the Emperor of Japan
• 
  Emblazoned on the doors of a tomb in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto
• 
  Bow of the battleship Mikasa
• 
  Imperial crest on an Order of the Garter banner when the Emperor is a member of the Order
• 
  Imperial crest in Heraldischer Atlas (1899)
• 
  Miyajima postage stamp (1939)
• 
  Imperial crest seen on a Toyota Century Royal, the state car of Japan

See also

• Japan portal

• National emblems of Japan
• Chrysanthemum Throne
• Imperial Seal of Korea
• Imperial emblem of Manchukuo
• Order of the Chrysanthemum
• Mon (emblem)

Notes

1. Despite this name, which is used only in English, it is not a seal and should not be confused with the Privy Seal of Japan or State Seal of Japan, which are both also occasionally described as the imperial seal