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Created page with "*''Other Names'': 三つ巴 ''(mitsudomoe)'' *''Japanese/Okinawan'': 左巴紋 ''(hidari gomon / fijai gumun)'' The ''hidari gomon'' was the house crest (''kamon'') of th..."
*''Other Names'': 三つ巴 ''(mitsudomoe)''
*''Japanese/Okinawan'': 左巴紋 ''(hidari gomon / fijai gumun)''
The ''hidari gomon'' was the house crest (''[[kamon]]'') of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô house]], the royal family of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. It consists of three comma-like shapes organized together to form a circle, with the circular heads of the three pointing in a clockwise fashion; this shape, common throughout Japan and Korea as well, is also known in Japanese as ''mitsu domoe''. When rendered in color, the three are typically red, yellow, and blue.
The design, long associated with the [[kami|deity]] [[Hachiman]], was adopted by King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] of Ryûkyû as his family crest in [[1466]]. This is traditionally said to have taken place in conjunction with his military conquest of [[Kikaigashima]] (Kikai Island), having direct connection to Shô Toku's adoption of Hachiman - a maritime and warrior deity - as a guardian deity of the kingdom. [[Azato Hachiman-gu|Azato Hachiman Shrine]] was erected in [[Naha]] (the main port city in Ryûkyû) at the same time.<ref>Plaques on-site at Azato Hachiman Shrine, Naha, Okinawa.</ref> Many scholars also suggest that Shô Toku and the kingdom had strong ties to ''[[wako|wakô]]'' (pirate/brigand) origins, and draw a connection between ''wakô'' patronage of Hachiman & use of the ''mitsudomoe'' symbol and the formal adoption of these by Shô Toku.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 118.</ref>
The design came to used fairly widely in a number of prominent royal court contexts, including being displayed prominently on royal ships. Though scattered records from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest various forms of the ''hidari gomon'' having been flown on Ryukyuan vessels or otherwise displayed as a symbol of the kingdom, the kingdom never adopted a formal national flag as a modern nation-state prior to [[Ryukyu shobun|its dissolution and abolition]].<ref>Kina Daisaku, part-time curator at the [[Naha City Museum of History]], argues explicitly against the notion of the kingdom, or [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]] ([[1872]]-[[1879]]), having a formal flag as was long asserted on Wikipedia and elsewhere in popular publications and popular consciousness. Kina Daisaku 喜納大作, ''Maboroshi no Ryûkyû ôkokki'' 「幻の琉球王国旗」、''Ryukyu Shimpo'' 琉球新報, 12 June 2012.[https://www.ntt-i.net/kariyushi/oukokuki.html]</ref> The ''hidari gomon'', sometimes referred to as a triskelion in English, was later adopted by USCAR, the US Occupation government which oversaw the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 to 1972, for its flag for the territory.
The symbol continues to be used widely today to represent the kingdom, the royal court, or various aspects of traditional Okinawan culture. It appears frequently on festival jackets and t-shirt, ''[[hatagashira]]'' banners, and so forth, and is particularly standard on the ''tiigaa'' cloth wrapping around the body of ''[[sanshin]]''.
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Culture]]
*''Japanese/Okinawan'': 左巴紋 ''(hidari gomon / fijai gumun)''
The ''hidari gomon'' was the house crest (''[[kamon]]'') of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô house]], the royal family of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. It consists of three comma-like shapes organized together to form a circle, with the circular heads of the three pointing in a clockwise fashion; this shape, common throughout Japan and Korea as well, is also known in Japanese as ''mitsu domoe''. When rendered in color, the three are typically red, yellow, and blue.
The design, long associated with the [[kami|deity]] [[Hachiman]], was adopted by King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] of Ryûkyû as his family crest in [[1466]]. This is traditionally said to have taken place in conjunction with his military conquest of [[Kikaigashima]] (Kikai Island), having direct connection to Shô Toku's adoption of Hachiman - a maritime and warrior deity - as a guardian deity of the kingdom. [[Azato Hachiman-gu|Azato Hachiman Shrine]] was erected in [[Naha]] (the main port city in Ryûkyû) at the same time.<ref>Plaques on-site at Azato Hachiman Shrine, Naha, Okinawa.</ref> Many scholars also suggest that Shô Toku and the kingdom had strong ties to ''[[wako|wakô]]'' (pirate/brigand) origins, and draw a connection between ''wakô'' patronage of Hachiman & use of the ''mitsudomoe'' symbol and the formal adoption of these by Shô Toku.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 118.</ref>
The design came to used fairly widely in a number of prominent royal court contexts, including being displayed prominently on royal ships. Though scattered records from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest various forms of the ''hidari gomon'' having been flown on Ryukyuan vessels or otherwise displayed as a symbol of the kingdom, the kingdom never adopted a formal national flag as a modern nation-state prior to [[Ryukyu shobun|its dissolution and abolition]].<ref>Kina Daisaku, part-time curator at the [[Naha City Museum of History]], argues explicitly against the notion of the kingdom, or [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]] ([[1872]]-[[1879]]), having a formal flag as was long asserted on Wikipedia and elsewhere in popular publications and popular consciousness. Kina Daisaku 喜納大作, ''Maboroshi no Ryûkyû ôkokki'' 「幻の琉球王国旗」、''Ryukyu Shimpo'' 琉球新報, 12 June 2012.[https://www.ntt-i.net/kariyushi/oukokuki.html]</ref> The ''hidari gomon'', sometimes referred to as a triskelion in English, was later adopted by USCAR, the US Occupation government which oversaw the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 to 1972, for its flag for the territory.
The symbol continues to be used widely today to represent the kingdom, the royal court, or various aspects of traditional Okinawan culture. It appears frequently on festival jackets and t-shirt, ''[[hatagashira]]'' banners, and so forth, and is particularly standard on the ''tiigaa'' cloth wrapping around the body of ''[[sanshin]]''.
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Culture]]