Tomoe (symbol)

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Triple tomoe on a Japanese drum

The tomoe ( Japanese 巴 ) or tomoe-mon ( 巴 紋 ) is an abstract Japanese emblem, consisting of one, two or three comma or pearl-like shapes. It is mostly used as a house coat of arms ( 家 紋 , kamon ), shrine symbol ( 神 紋 , shinmon ) or company logo. The emblem owes its name to its resemblance to a whirlpool ( 巴 , tomoe ), but there is also the opinion that the tomoe represents an archaic curved jewel ( 勾 玉 , magatama ). Another etymological explanation leads the term to the handguard of archers ( 鞆 , tomo ) back.

The most common is the triple tomoe ( 三 つ 巴 , mitsudomoe ), but there are also single, double and even quadruple tomoe emblems, each in a left-handed and right-handed version. The free space in this form can resemble a triskele .

The tomoe is generally considered to be the symbol of the Japanese deity Hachiman , but it is not restricted to Hachiman alone, and all Hachiman shrines use a tomoe symbol. Many Hachiman shrines, for example, use a dove symbol, while the famous Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine in Kamakura uses the well-known crane symbol in reference to the place name Tsurugaoka (= crane hill) , which also adorned the air fleet of Japan Airlines until 2002 . On the other hand, the tomoe-mon is sometimes also used in Buddhist temples , e.g. B. on the round eaves-side ends of semi-cylindrical roof tiles to be found. Since the emblem is associated with water in China, it is supposed to protect against fire here. As a universal religious symbol, it is also often depicted on traditional Japanese drums ( taiko ).

A certain affinity between the Tomoe symbol and Hachiman can still be proven. The symbol was used by the Wako pirates, who had chosen Hachiman as their special patron god. Possibly through the mediation of the Wakō , both Hachiman and the Tomoe symbol in the island kingdom of Ryūkyū (now Okinawa ) were known and taken over by the local royal family.

The word Tomoe can also be used as a given name in Japan by both men and women. The most famous example is the semi-legendary Tomoe Gozen , one of the few female samurai characters.

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