What is a family emblem?

Family emblem is a cultural product with Japanese characteristics. This family badge is the idea of smart Japanese. Zuko Ito believes: "In fact, at the moment when this coat of arms (that is, the family emblem) is affixed to the kimono, the kimono is no longer just a dress, but a symbol to show the reputation of the so-called blood group, that is, the family, and to show off this reputation."

The Japanese family emblem has a history of more than 900 years. It was originally produced in heian period. At that time, in order to show their identity and family background, some dignitaries often chose their favorite patterns from popular patterns such as peacocks, butterflies, peonies, round fans and turtles to decorate cars, places, clothes and furniture. Later, because a family used the same pattern repeatedly and passed it down from generation to generation, this pattern gradually became the symbol of this family. This is the origin of the family emblem.

Just as Japanese architecture and other arts are based on the principle of obeying nature, Japanese family emblems also show this tendency. Unlike Europe, which advocates strict animals such as lions, eagles and vultures and likes to make badges with the patterns of these animals, in Japan, the patterns of family badges are mostly elegant. For example, the family emblem of the Japanese royal family is designed with chrysanthemums, and the family emblem of the Tokugawa family is designed with sunflowers. The choice of these plants as patterns is obviously not to show strength and majesty, but out of love for nature. It is said that Emperor Hou Yi chose chrysanthemum as the national emblem of the royal family. He made such a choice only because he likes chrysanthemums very much.

In the Edo era, printing family emblems has become a social trend. Even ordinary people who were not allowed to wear swords or have their own names in the past can have their own family emblems, and they can freely design various family emblems, thus greatly increasing the variety and quantity of family emblems. At that time, the family emblem was not only a symbol of the family, but also had the following functions:

Some women changed their husbands' surnames after leaving the farm, but on the back of the kimono, they still wore their mother's family emblem and wore it all their lives. This practice of self-reporting is not only a respect for family background, but also a nostalgia for history. In the matriarchal family era centered on women, the so-called marriage is the family of a man's stepwife, which is also a form of "husband-in-law marriage". Now, despite the inversion of yin and yang, women are still in a subordinate position. However, they seem to be bitter about it and are obsessed with the good old days. According to Zuku Ito, a woman still wears her maiden's family badge after marriage, "in order to preserve the traces of her husband's adoption of his wife".

In addition, there was a fashion at that time, that is, after two people who loved each other got married, they could put their family emblems together in a new room to symbolize their union. This new emblem has a poetic and romantic name-"Bi", which symbolizes a kind of love, that is, "I would like to be two branches of a big tree and grow together". In heaven ".

As the family emblem is the symbol of the family and the display of the family status, An Wei's "fate" is often closely related to the rise and fall of the family. In this respect, the most representative ones are the once famous Tokugawa family's sunflower emblem and the royal family's chrysanthemum emblem. During the Meiji Restoration, the family emblem of Tokugawa family, the shogunate general, was eclipsed. Mirrors decorated with sunflower patterns piled up in shops and prices plummeted. The chrysanthemum pattern, once discussed as a pharmacy advertisement, suddenly became sacred due to the restoration of imperial power.

After the Meiji Restoration, due to the increasing spread of European democratic ideas in Japan, the family emblem, as a symbol of family reputation, was regarded as a closed product by some so-called progressives and despised. After World War II, after social reform and economic democratization, the foundation of the family system was shaken. As a family symbol, the family emblem seems to have lost its meaning of existence. It has a history of nearly 900 years, and the color is gradually dim. However, it did not quit the historical stage, but tried to "reincarnate" in various ways. Today, as a decorative art, patterns that often appear on clothes, bags and various packages often remind people of family emblems-in fact, many of them are based on family emblems. In addition, many kinds of badges in Japan, such as school badges and company badges, are said to have originated from family badges, and their patterns and composition are influenced by family badges to varying degrees.

As a family symbol, family emblem is the product of Japanese traditional cultural consciousness, which has its rationality of existence. Because respect for family has a deep-rooted position in Japanese consciousness. The cell of Japanese society is the family, not the individual, and it is the main force of social unity. Since ancient times, family has always been a decisive factor in Japanese life. As Yoshikazu Yoshiichi said: "The unit of western society is the individual, and the group of individuals constitutes the country. In Japan, the state is a collection of families. This is the fundamental difference. " From this point of view, it seems to be a one-sided approach to simply deny the family emblem that strengthens and highlights family consciousness with the so-called democratic thought in the West.

Historically, family emblem is a means to strengthen family consciousness as the main force of social unity. Nowadays, Japanese companies with a family atmosphere (at least the Japanese strive to create this atmosphere) require employees to wear company badges, which is a means of "corporate identity" and an important part of corporate culture, which helps to strengthen employees' identity awareness. No matter in content or form, how can we not feel the unique wisdom of the Japanese when we link the company emblem with the family emblem? What's more, it has all kinds of expensive functions.