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image
mon;
it's not just |
This is the source image for the background image. The graphic to the right is my family's mon. A mon is like a family crest or coat of arms. Unlike the coat of arms, it is not a unique design. I imagine one of my ancestors picked out our mon from a book of mon and adopted it for use by the clan. We have old photographs of my ancestors wearing formal or ceremonial garb imprinted with the mon. |
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We've learned that not all families have a mon. Some may not have picked one out. It also
had something to do with a families place in the Japanese social order. We learned of our
mon when my father was researching the family tree a few years ago.
Happily, I've adopted the mon for use as a logo element for my business. Unhappily, the only other use of the mon I'm aware of here in the States has been engraving the mon on family headstones.
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The image on the right is my family chop, it reads "Taniguchi". Evidently, Taniguchi translates to something like "house at
the mouth of the valley". If you look at the character carefully, you'll be able to pick
out this idea pretty easily.
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