Sake Cup

[Dieter3]

Rich, Paul (or anybody!) - Any idea on what this motif represents? Is it military?

Edited February 20, 2011 by Dieter3

[Paul L Murphy]

The cup is for returning in victory from Russia but I have no idea about the central motif. It could be the symbol of a town or city but I do not recall seeing it before.

[Dieter3]

For what it's worth, it was given to an army chief nurse, 2nd Infantry Regiment (written on the bottom, but that's it!) - I suspect this is not a medical symbol though! Perhaps a military one?

[Paul L Murphy]

The 2nd Infantry Regiment came from Mito, their division was headquartered in Utsunomiya. It would be worthwhile trying to find city symbol for these two places to see if either match.

[Dieter3]

I will check that out! I did email Dan King too, he suggested it could be a stylized cherry blossom. Could be, but I'll investigate town and regional symbol possibilities too, good suggestion!

[fukuoka]

Dieter, it's a family crest (kamon 家紋). If you have a book about those, this should be easy to find. So the crest is no doubt that of the recipient of the cup. (BTW, I don't think it is a stylized blossom. In traditional Japanese symbolism, the round circles represent stars.)

Cheers,

Rich

[Dieter3]

I don't actually have a book about these, so thanks for that info!!!

[fukuoka]

I don't actually have a book about these, so thanks for that info!!!

If you're interested, the topic is really interesting. The best book in English is The Elements of Japanese Design,

A Handbook of Family Crests, Heraldry, & Symbolism by John Dower. Still in print.

And if you are interested in books about Japan and the war, you MUST read Dower's other fantastic books.

[fukuoka]

Sorry to reply again, but I just remembered there is an online database of the family crests. The text is in Japanese, but you can browse around and maybe find some nice designs. I typed in 'hoshi　星' and found crests similar to yours right away. Note that family crests are always adaptable and people often make small and large changes to their own (or even design their own)--there are no rules. Here is the link to the star page:

http://www.otomiya.com/kamon/sizen/hoshi.htm

Rich

[Dieter3]

Awesome! Thanks for that additional info! I think I'm going to buy the design elements book tonight as soon as I get home! I'll check the other books too, I was just on his bio page at MIT. Very accomplished! There are times when I wish I would have chosen a different major, but oh well!