WHO WE ARE
Patternz.jp is a team of a writer/consultant and a photographer based in Tokyo explore patterns (Japanese and everything), history, and culture. Born and raised in Northeastern Japan, we took our culture for granted until we moved to the United States, that gave us an opportunity to reflect our own culture. What makes a Japanese culture unique and what we share in common with others? Those are our motivation to explore.
Genji-guruma, a cartwheel of an ox cart on a tombstone
WHAT WE DO
We explore and share the Japanese language and culture in-depth while helping Japanese Americans and Brazilians who want to have a clue to their origin with our consulting services.
We’ve helped more than 40 clients with finding their possible origin and Japanese family crests – Kamon. You can check our consulting page and reviews from our clients.
It’s the right place for you to inquire anything about the Japanse family crest.
Upon request and our own curiosity, we research, interview, and share the thoughts and images for the better understanding of Japanese culture. The country with the world’s longest history never fails us to be amazed. Enjoy exploring and discovering insights with us.
Any questions or media request, you can contact us through Contact or write us: patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I am a 70-year-old New Englander who greatly appreciates Japanese history and culture, especially Japanese art, architecture, and crafts, e.g., woodworking, textiles of all kinds, pottery, etc. So, naturally I find myself exploring various Japanese websites. However, one constant surprise is that I still encounter, now in 2024, so many bizarre mistranslations of language, including here in your website. I am 100% certain that in Japan and abroad, there are countless Japanese and native English speakers who study and practice translation and interpretation. Please find someone! 🙂 Note that my experience of these mistranslations never ruin my day, rather they are often hilarious. I just don’t get it! All the best to you, Peter
Hello, I was wondering if there is a way for me to get in touch with my family Kamon?
SHIMAZAKI
Grandfather was from Kumamoto
Grandmother was from Fukuoka
Thank you,
Keith
Hi!
I am looking for any information as well as the kamon for (Shinpei? Tomikichi? Tokuichi, Shigeo, Haruo) Sakata from Kawasekomura Hiroshimaken, Japan. I am also searching for my grandmother, Suye Sakata ‘s family kamon. She was also born in Hiroshima but I have no other information about her except that her father or grandfather was possibly a mayor or had a position of standing and respect in their community. If you can possibly help I am happy to hire you for your services. Thank you!
p.s. also Kiyoko Nakatsu, born Yamagata-Gun, Hiroshima-Ken
🙏🏼
Hello Susan,
Thank you for your comment! I have related information about both the Sakata (坂田) and Nakatsu (中津) families in Hiroshima Prefecture, including their origins and Kamon. The Sakata family has two roots with two Kamon, and the Nakatsu family has one origin with one Kamon. Although I can’t narrow it down to one origin and one Kamon about the Sakata family, I can still write a report with two potential roots and Kamon for your reference. Please understand I can’t guarantee this information is 100 % accurate for your families since my resources are based on the prefectural level.
Please let me know if you have any questions via the email below.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
Hello, I would like to know if the kamon are registerd after they have been created
Thank you
Hi Juan,
Thanks for the comment! There’s no such thing as a registry for Kamon. We have a “Past Book” (Kakocho,) which keeps information about deceased family members that are kept at each temple or the head family. It happens to record the Kamon, but it’s just a record for each family.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions via the email address below.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
Have a wonderful day!
Hiroko
Hello, My mother married a Dutch sailor and left Japan 53 years ago. I recently went to my mother’s birthplace Sasebo in Japan to retrieve ancestral records because that is where they came from. My grandmother’s family name was Matsunaga. My grandmother’s records were missing. Probably destroyed during WW2. Would you still be able to do research on the her family line if i only can give you references about her from my grandfather’s koseki and Joseki and an old address? (I did not find a family crest on family photo’s).
Hello,
I am looking for the exact family crest for Tateoka. My family found a butterfly, but they were unsure of the exact one. The one found was a butterfly with a big nose 🙁 , so I’m glad that is not the one. My daughter’s friend from Japan (elementary school age) said he had seen it before and it was prettier the than one she had shown him. I hope you can help.
Thank you.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the comment! I can look up in my resources to see whether I have the related information about your Tateoka family once you tell me the kanji characters of the Tateoka family and the family domicile. Also, can you send me the photo of the butterfly your family found? Where did your family find this butterfly? Such as on some kimono or other items?
You can write me back via the email address below.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
I am so excited that I found this site. I am Sansei living in Los Angeles, CA. My mother’s maiden name is Arima. Her parents were both were from Satsuma District and lived in Kagoshima. My Grandmother’s Maiden name was Taniguchi and a long line of Shinto priests. She was sent to American as a picture bride and worked in Salinas on the strawberry farms. My father’s parents were from the same area. They met in Washington and married there and settled in Colorado. And the interesting thing is my grandfather’s sur name was Zinzo Arima, but his wife was a family of women so he took her last name Hashi. I am interested in finding the kamon of both.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for the comment! So that you want to know the Kamon for the Arima and Taniguchi families. I have the related information about both of them in my resources.
The Arima (有馬) family has three different origins and seven family crests while the Taniguchi (谷口) family has an origin with two different family crests. Or would you like to know about the Hashi family? In that case, unfortunately I don’t have any related information about it.
I can compile the reports for the Arima and Taniguchi families if you wish. Although I can’t narrow it down to one family crest, I can still write the report for your reference.
Please let me know if you have any questions via the email address below.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
Hi I am looking for my family crest, my last name is Nakata and I used to have a picture of it but I lost it unfortunately. All I remember is that there was some kind of flower in it. Thank you for your help
Hi Atlas,
Thank you for the comment! Could you tell me about your Nakata family domicile (such as prefecture)? Then I can look up in my resources whether I have any related information about your family crest.
You can write me via the email address below.
Patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
As I search for more history of my family it ha become even harder with the bitcoin craziness. Is Nakamoto such a common last name like Smith is in the US?
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the comment! The family name Nakamoto is not as common as Smith since it is not in the top 100. Yet, I don’t say it’s unusual since everybody knows the name.
I hope it helps!
Hiroko
Hi,
I’ve always been really interested in my Japanese family history and always associated the family Kamon that we were shown our whole lives, but was very confused once I found this site as it is the same Tsuta-mon (ivy) that is displayed as the logo on the site. The family name is Nakata. I read that it was normal for multiple families to have the same kamon, but I am still confused and wanted to make sure there’s not some mix up. Really appreciate it!
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the comment! I understand your apprehension. But it is completely normal that we share the same Kamon with different family names and different family origins since popular ones are shared among many.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
Hiroko
Good Morning…..I am looking for the family crest for Mita. It is a gift for my partner, so I have little information to provide. Please guide me.
Thank you
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the comment! I understand you want to look for the Mital family crest for your partner. If you could provide me with the information about your partner’s family address, such as prefecture, I would look at my resources to see whether I have the related information about the family with their family crest.
You can write to me back via the email address below.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
Hello, it looks like your contact page is still broken.
I’m looking for information about the Murai family kamon in Yamaguchi prefecture.
Is this something you could help with?
Thanks!
Hi Lee,
Thanks for the comment and for telling us the contact form error! The Murai (村井) family from Yamaguchi Prefecture has an origin with a family crest in our resources. If you like us to research genealogy further, consider our Research Report service.
https://www.patternz.jp/product/kamon-consulting/
Please let us know if you’re interested in the service via email.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
Best regards,
Hiroko
Hello. Your consulting services page does not load and seems broken. I’m curious about my family’s kamon. It is Murashige and it appears to be a cluster of three trees. I have my grandmother’s wedding kimono with the kamon design. My question is what type of tree it is. I am a forester and find this greatly interesting. Any information you can provide is most appreciated!
Hi Erickson,
Thank you for letting us know our consulting page is broken. We’re onto fixing it.
Could you please send us the photo of that kamon you’re referring to? We might be able to recognize what that tree is.
patternz.jp{at}gmail.com
Best regards,
Hiroko
Hi I’m trying to find our family crest for the Nakata and Suzuki family. I know my grandfather Jirokichi Nakata came from Wakayama Prefecture and I’m still trying to obtain abit more information on the Suzuki Nishi family. Thank you.
Hi,
Thank you for the comment! We have the resources for the Nakata (中田) family in Wakayama Prefecture.
Three different origins and different family crests are attached to it. We can compile the report of the origins with each crest with its meanings if you like. When you find out more information about your Suzuki family, please let us know!
Best regards,
Hiroko
Hello! Your contact form seems to be broken so I cannot send you a request. I am looking for the crest for my family, Arakaki. I know it’s a rather common Okinawan name so I hope you would have luck.
Hi Zuke!
Thank you for the comment and let us know our contact form is broken! We will fix it soon.
About your family name, Arakaki, we have the resources for ones in Okinawa as you mentioned.
Compared to the family names in Honshu (mainland Japan), less information is available for the Okinawan family names.
It would be two-pages long with family origin with the family crest (but no meaning reported) if we compile the report.
If you have any questions, please let us know in the comment section for now!
Hiroko
Hi Zuke,
My Great grandfather was from Okinawa. He left Okinawa and settled in Hawaii. I’ve been trying to look for the family crest for awhile now.
I was just wondering if you found your family crest?
Sincerely
Kalani Arakaki
Olá! Meu nome é Kazuo Kichize minha família é de Ukiha(Kurume, Tanushimaru) Fukuoka Ken meu ancestral mais antigo é meu tataravo Heitaro Kichize, bisavô Tomossite Kichize e avô Tatsuo Kichize, gostaria de informações se possível do Kamon da família e maiores informações, para árvore familiar. Obrigado.
Hi Kauzo,
Sorry, it took us this long to get back to you! Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the related information of the family name “KICHIZE” in Fukuoka Prefecture. Seems like 吉瀬 families originated in Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture, that’s all what we came to find out.
Again, sorry that we couldn’t be of your help!
Hiroko
Saludos, he buscado sobre el kamón de mi Familia, y encontré una pero no estoy seguro.
Familia TOKUNAGA徳永 es de Fukuoka-Ken
Itonaga-Gun
El kamón q encontré es el mismo q está en su página de patternz
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for the comment! You’ve searched your family crest and found that “Ivy Crest” should be the one. In our resources, there are two possible origins of the TOKUNAGA (徳永) family from Fukuoka Prefecture with each different family crest. One of them is “Ivy Crest” for sure, but slightly different in the color arrangement that the background color is black and the ivy pattern itself is white.
If you want us to research on the possible origins of the Tokunaga family in Fukuoka Prefecture with the significance of two family crests (including the ivy crest), please consider our research report service.
https://www.patternz.jp/product/kamon-consulting/
Hope it helps!
Hiroko
Hiroko,
Would you have any information on the “Eto” Kamon? Thank you.
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for the comment! Yes, we do have the information on the “Eto” Kamon. There are many varieties of the kanji characters of “Eto” such as “衛藤”,”江藤”, “江東”, and so on.
Also, the Eto Kamon would differ to each domicile (Prefecture). If you could provide us with the kanji characters of the Eto family and its domicile, we may be able to narrow down the possible kamon with more accuracy.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hiroko
Hiroko,
Thank you. The kanji I have looks much like the first set, only vertical. The city is Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.
Let me know how to proceed.
Thank you.
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
In our resources, there are two family crests attached to the Eto (衛藤) family in Fukuoka Prefecture. Both of them are attached to one origin.
We can compile the report of origin, history, and family crests of the Eto family with our research report service ($299.99).
https://www.patternz.jp/product/kamon-consulting/
Best regards,
Hiroko
Hiroko,
Thank you.
Hello, my cousin and I are trying to find our family crest. Our family name is Yoshida. Do you have any tips for finding our crest?
Thank you
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for the comment! So you’re looking for the Kamon of your family “YOSHIDA” (吉田?). There are many family crests associated to the family name “YOSHIDA” and we can conduct research based on a set of family domicile and family name. Do you know where your family came from such as prefecture?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hiroko
I am trying to find the family crest for our family. So far, I have been unable to get information on how to locate the crest. Even tried the Kamon generator, but to no avail This is a Japanese legacy that we would like to leave our children and grandchildren,. Your help in locating our family crest will be deeply appreciated.
Hi Hiroko,
Thanks for reaching out to us! So you’re looking for your family crest. Is your family name MIYAKAWA (宮川)? If you can understand Japanese, there are many services which offer to find out your family crest by researching your family tree and other stuff. If you don’t use Japanese, we can conduct research about your family crest based on a set of info: your family name and family’s domicile (such as prefecture). There’s no guarantee that we can find your family crest, however, the possibilities are there are more than one family crest and origin attach to your family name. Anyway, if you could provide us with the family name in Kanji characters and its domicile, we’ll take a look if there’s any match.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Hiroko
Thank you for the information! My name is very American but i was born in Tokyo. My grandparents are Japanese. Many family records were bombed in wwii, so I will come back in July and hope to get Mon history for Yamagiwa with chrysanthemum and water stream mon of Kusunoki clan and Kamiya families. I don’t understand how grandmas kimono has Kusunoki mon. I’m trying to find the Connection. There was an adoption somewhere and family Tempe of anrakuji was donated to government in 1950s.
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for the comment! So your family seems to have a connection with Kusunoki Masashige… Interesting! Is that family temple “Anrakuji” located in Kyoto or Tokyo? Both are related to Jodo sect Buddhism generally, yet constructed by different monks. Anyway, good luck with your journey searching for your ancestry in Japan! (We”d be happy to have your update!;)
Hiroko
Thank you Hiroko san. Your website is very good. I really like its contents.
I suggest you create an instagram account so we can follow you. So that whenever you upload new content we can keep coming back to your website.
I love Japan, Japanese people, the history, the culture, everything Japanese.
Keep up the good work.
Do you have a recommended reading list on Japanese culture, history, or anything relating to your website? I would love to give those a read too.
Hi Mustafa,
Thank you so much for the comment! I truly am glad that you enjoy our content! And thanks for your suggestion for starting an instagram account.
We’ll give it a thought! Oh and some reading list for Japanese culture, history, and everything fascinating about it? That’s a great suggestion as well, I may write a post about it sometime later.
Thanks, Mustafa!
Hiroko
Hiroko-san,
We’d like to thank you and your team for the informative and detailed report about our Ichinohe lineage. Since the Ichinohe name is rare, narrowing the scope to find our family kamon was challenging. You went above and beyond to work with us to arrive at the most accurate information possible with little background information. Thank you so much for all the correspondence throughout the process. Not only did you provide thorough coverage of the family history, you provided us with the step-process to facilitate our own personal search to learn more about our family history. We cannot be more pleased with the courteous, professional, credible, and valuable service you provided to us! We highly recommend you to those who are considering a search for their family kamon. ありがとうございました！
Sincerely,
Christi Steed
Hi there
I think we have a similar story. We just found we have Kamon too. Our grand father Tamakitchi Matsuoka Osaka our Kamon is chigai takanoha.
What services do you provide?
Hi Noriko-san,
Thanks for contacting us!
There is some information based on a set of the family name and the domicile of the family (the main birthplace),
such as the possible line(s) your family came from sometimes it can be traced back to Emperor(s).
Many Japanese family names have its origin in the domain (often the name of natural features) if it’s from samurai families.
If it’s from court nobles, their name of the residence or the street name became their family names.
So what we can provide are the possible origin and the history of a Japanese family name, and also of its crest.
(We compile the report of those information in pdf.)
Hope it helps!
Hiroko
Sasano
Matsuoka
Yamamoto
Can u direct me to find mon
Family Crest please
Thank you
Mickie Diamant
Thanks for writing us, Mickie.
Well, each family has each Kamon in Japan and even with the same family name, it doesn’t mean two different Sasano families have the same Kamon. So if you could provide us the birthplace of each family (region or Prefecture), it would lead us somewhere as a start.
You can write us at https://www.patternz.jp/product/kamon-custom.
Thank you.
Hiroko