Japanese Design Motifs: 4,260 Illustrations of Japanese Crests

by Matsuya Piece-Goods Store (Compiler), Fumie Adachi (Translator)

This collection presents more than 4,000 individual designs in the 900-year-old tradition of Japanese family crests. Through constant variation and invention over the centuries, this has become one of the richest graphic art traditions in the world.
Most of these motifs are circular, and they can all be fitted into a square. Within those limitations is a seemingly endless range of designs, beginning with the dozens and dozens of root motifs — rice plant, gingko, scallop, lightning, anchor, spool, raft, candle, scissors, fern, saki bottle, lotus blossom, mountain arrow, pine, wisteria, ship, rabbit, and scores of others. Practically every kind of plant, bird, animal, natural phenomenon, and manufactured object of Japanese culture was at one time or another included in a family crest. In addition, each of the root designs was treated to dozens of imaginative variations — they were reproduced bilaterally, in triangles, diamonds, five- and six-pointed stars, in spirals, were built up in series, made to overlap, combined with each other, and so on. Some of these are classic and recognizable designs, like the yin-yang, linked rings, and treasure knot. Many of the others have rarely been seen in the West.
Graphic artists, textile designers, pattern-makers, advertisers, and other commercial artists looking for an untapped source of novel, appealing designs will find a wealth of material here. Some of these motifs can be used to suggest an exotic flavor, and others are universal and can be used almost anywhere.

Genres: Art, Japan, Reference, Design, Nonfiction, Crafts, Japanese Literature

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1972

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction the the royal & samurai emblems along with the symbolism. Great resource for designers

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is okay. Good for reference, not much of anything to read. Great resource if you are just looking for pictures of the crests.

[Andrew Cioffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains the most complete collection that I can find anywhere. I would love to see a more comprehensive index with more details about each crest and some histories. But, all in all, if you need a book of Japanese kamon, this book is wonderful.

[Marik Berghs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must have for graphic designers and anyone who appreciates the beauty of clean design, pure lines and maximum impact with positive and negative space.

[Thora Hrafnsdottir · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is some text at the beginning but the vast majority of the book is pictures and the Japanese text for each of the different crests - 213 pages of about 20 crests each. An excellent resource.