MovieChat Forums > Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1963) Discussion > symbols on kimono

symbols on kimono

posted 17 years ago by latrusty
11 replies | jump to latest

does anyone know what the symbols on sanjuro's kimono are called? thanks for any info.

"life's the illusion...love is the dream..."

[–] patricia_lothrop 16 years ago

Mon-tsuki are the kamon(family crests) worn in three or five places on formal kimono.

[–] mothboy88 16 years ago

Anybody know what clan Sanjuro belonged to?

[–] Master_Lo 16 years ago

Wasn't Sanjuro a ronin?

"I won't say a single solitary slovo unless I have my lawyer here. I know the law, you bastards"

[–] mothboy88 16 years ago

yeah, but he had to come from somewhere- so if we know his clan we might be able to unravel a bit of the mystery around our enigmatic hero!

Yes I'm a nerd sometimes.

[–] Master_Lo 16 years ago

Well yeah! If Kurosawa was perfectionist, then he should have had some kind of a back story for Sanjuro. Wish we knew more

"I won't say a single solitary slovo unless I have my lawyer here. I know the law, you bastards"

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Master_Lo 16 years ago

Sweet! Now all we need is a Japanese expert! :)

"I won't say a single solitary slovo unless I have my lawyer here. I know the law, you bastards"

[–] tenazuchi 16 years ago

A symbol on Sanjuro’s kimono was called “maru-ni ken-katabami” or literally “sword-oxalis with circle”, which was one of the most popular family crests in Japan and identical to that of the house of Akira Kurosawa too.
The oxalis is a tough weed clustering all around the Japanese fields, and many ancient clans took this crest, hoping their families would flourish like such weeds.

[–] latrusty 16 years ago

thank you! that's exactly what i wanted to know. i'm trying to find a good close-up photo of this crest. my husband is a huge fan of kurosawa (especially of sanjuro) so i'm making him a kimono and wanted to make it exactly like the one sanjuro wears. i love that such a "simple" design has such a complex and important meaning. thanks again for your help!

"life's the illusion...love is the dream..."

[–] tenazuchi 16 years ago

I am very glad to hear it. Visit the following webpage:
http://www.e-sozai.com/mon/shokubutsu/224.html

Sorry Japanese only but you can find the images of all oxalis crests there.

[–] Marc-Kupper 11 years ago

Wikipedia has a nice size copy of the mon or crest seen on Sanjuro's kimono.

This is the version you would use on a dark colored cloth. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maru_ni_Ken-Katabami_inverted.p ng They don't have the regular version for light cloth but someone could invert this image.

Essentially it means to cut with a sword into a round piece.