The Imperial Seal of Japan or National Seal of Japan, also called the , or , is the ''

mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

'' used by the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

and members of the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

. It is one of the

national seals of Japan The national seals of Japan comprise the following emblems used for the purpose of authentication by the Emperor and government of Japan: * The Government Seal of Japan (also called the ''Paulownia Seal'') * The Imperial Seal of Japan (also calle ...

and is used in a manner similar to a national coat of arms of Japan, e.g., on

Japanese passport are issued to Japanese nationals to facilitate international travel. From 2018 to 2022, it was ranked first on the Henley Passport Index for visa-free travel, and second as of April 2025, with holders able to travel visa-free to 190 countries a ...

s. The

Japanese government The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...

uses a different emblem, the Paulownia seal.

History

During the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

(1868–1912), no one was permitted to use the Imperial Seal except the

, who used a 16-petalled chrysanthemum with sixteen tips of another row of petals showing behind the first row. Therefore, each member of the Imperial family used a slightly modified version of the seal.

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrines either displayed the imperial seal or incorporated elements of the seal into their own tag. Earlier in Japanese history, when

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

, who tried to break the power of the shogunate in 1333, was exiled, he adopted the seventeen-petalled chrysanthemum in order to differentiate himself from the Northern Court's

Emperor Kōgon was the first of the Emperors of Northern Court during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts in Japan. His reign spanned the years from 1331 through 1333. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Nanboku-chō throne, his personal name ...

, who kept the imperial 16-petalled ''mon''.

Description

The symbol is a yellow or orange

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

with black or red outlines and background. A central disc is surrounded by a front set of 16 petals. A rear set of 16 petals are half staggered in relation to the front set and are visible at the edges of the flower. An example of the chrysanthemum being used is in the badge for the

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest Order (decoration), order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike European counterparts, the order may be Posthumous award, ...

. Other members of the

use a version with 14 single petals, while a form with 16 single petals is used for orders,

passports A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

members' pins, and other items that carry or represent the authority of the Emperor. The Imperial Seal is also used on the standards of the Imperial Family.

Gallery

File:JapanpassportNew10y.PNG, Imperial seal emblazoned on the cover of a

File:Imperial_Throne_Emperor_of_Japan.png, Imperial Throne of the Emperor of Japan File:Ikkyuji Tomb of Ikkyu2 DSCN1301 20101117.JPG, Emblazoned on the doors of a tomb in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto File:Imperial Seal of Japan.jpg, Bow of the battleship ''Mikasa'' File:Garter Banner of the Japanese Emperor.svg, Imperial Seal on an

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

banner when the Emperor is a member of the Order File:Imperial seal of Japan.png, Imperial Seal in ''

Heraldischer Atlas ''Heraldischer Atlas; eine Sammlung von heraldischen Musterblättern für Künstler, Gewerbetreibende, sowie für Freunde der Wappenkunde'' was a book on heraldry by Austrian heraldist and heraldic artist Hugo Gerard Ströhl, published in Stuttga ...

'' (1899) File:Miyajima_stamp.JPG, Miyajima postage stamp (1939)

References

External links

* {{Coats of arms of Asia Japanese monarchy

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

National symbols of Japan Empire of Japan Japanese coats of arms Japanese heraldry

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links