View source for Tomoe

{{short description|Japanese comma-like swirl symbol}}
{{Redirect|Mitsudomoe|the manga and anime|Mitsudomoe (manga)}}
{{Other uses|Tomoe (disambiguation)}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
[[File:Tomoe.svg|thumb|Three ''tomoe'']]
{{Shinto}}

{{Nihongo|'''''Tomoe'''''|[[Wiktionary:巴|巴]]|extra= also written {{lang|ja|[[Wiktionary:鞆絵|鞆絵]]}}}},{{efn|There are in fact seven variants for writing ''tomoe'':ともゑ,巴, 鞆画, 鞆,鞆絵, 艫絵 and 伴絵.{{sfn|Brown|1998|p=186}}}} commonly translated as "[[comma]]",{{sfn|Turnbull|2012|p=43}}{{sfn|van Gulik|1982|p=168}} is a comma-like swirl symbol used in Japanese {{Transliteration|ja|[[mon (emblem)|mon]]}} (roughly equivalent to a [[heraldic badge]] or [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] in European heraldry). It closely resembles the usual form of a {{Transliteration|ja|[[magatama]]}}.

The {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} appears in many designs with various uses. The simplest, most common patterns of the [[Charge (heraldry)|device]] contain from one to four {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}, and are reminiscent of similar designs that have been found in wide distribution around the world. When circumscribed in a circle, it often appears in a set of three, with this design known as the {{nihongo|'''''mitsudomoe'''''|三ツ巴}}.{{sfn|Repp|2002|p=171}}

==Etymology==
Originally, the Chinese character 巴, a hieroglyphic character that represents a person lying on their stomach was applied, because of the similarity in shape. But it is likely not directly related to the Japanese word "Tomoe" itself. The character [[:wikt:巴|巴]] (Chinese pronunciation ''bā'') has several meanings, ranging from a [[Sichuan]] [[toponym]]  to a crust formed by dryness, parts of the body such as hands or cheeks, and, as a verb, bearing the sense of  "to hope", "expect" or "be anxious over". The [[Chinese characters|Chinese character]] used to depict, according to [[Bernhard Karlgren]]'s interpretation of the [[small seal script]] graph, a [[Python (genus)|python]].{{sfn|Karlgren|1974|p=211}}

The most common view is that the word refers to a  picture  {{Nihongo|''e''|絵||}} of a {{Nihongo|''tomo''|鞆||}}, or drawings on the latter, the {{Transliteration|ja|tomo}} in question, in [[Old Japanese|archaic Japanese]] {{Transliteration|ojp|tömö}},{{efn|[[Roy Andrew Miller]] vocalizes it ''tömo.'' (止毛) This article follows Ōno et al.{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=77}}{{sfn|Ōno|Satake|Maeda|1974|p=926}}}} being a round  leather arm protector, like the [[bracer]] or gauntlet tab of European archery.{{sfn|Munro|1911|p=49}} [[Roy Andrew Miller]] describes it as "a small hollow sack or bulb of sewn leather with leather tie straps, sometimes embossed with a comma like decorative device ({{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}) of continental origin".{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=77}} It was worn on the left elbow or wrist of an archer either to prevent chafing from the bowstring ({{Transliteration|ja|tsuru}}: 弦) twanging back to position on the release of an arrow, or to strike fear into the enemy from the sharp sound caused by the bowstring hitting the wrist guard.{{sfn|SS|1966|p=121}}{{sfn|Heldt|2014|p=191}}{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=77}} The 'tomo picture' ({{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}) can therefore be interpreted either as a visual pun on the tomo represented, or, otherwise, as taking its name from that object. Several such examples are conserved in Nara at the [[Shōsōin]].{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=77}}

Another view is The Japanese word itself may be of [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic origin]], since it bears comparison with [[Middle Mongol]] {{Transliteration|xng|tomuüa}} "twisted horse headdress", from the verb {{Transliteration|ja|tomu}} (plait, twist), and [[Ordos Mongolian]] ''t'omok'' ('a little bag hung on a horse's head'). In this latter connection [[Tang dynasty|Tang ceramic figures of horses]] show small sacks tethered to the lower neck, perhaps to stop the horse from throwing its head back.{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=78}}

==Theories of its origin==
The origin of the {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} design is uncertain. The most common view is that tomoe patterns originated in ''[[magatama]]'' jewelry from  [[Jōmon period|late Jōmon period]] approximately 1,000 BCE of Japan which was used for the shinto rituals.  A pattern resembling the two-comma {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} ({{Transliteration|ja|futatsudomoe}}) has been found in ancient cultures on all inhabited continents.{{sfn|Darvas|2007|pp=37–39}} A stylized design on a [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao bowl]] dates back to 2,000&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Darvas|2007|pp=36–37}} The motif of  two encircling dolphins biting each other's tails has been found on [[Crete|Cretan]] ceramics dating from the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan period]] (1700–1400 BCE), and the two fish biting each other in circular fashion recurs in both Chinese and Central Mexican ware.{{sfn|Darvas|2007|p=38}} It is frequently seen on prehistoric Celtic remains, and one mirror from [[Balmaclellan]] is almost identical to the {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}}.{{sfn|Munro|1911|p=52-53}} In China, the double comma form came to be assimilated to the [[Yin and yang|Yin-Yang]] philosophy of opposing male/female principles, formalized in the {{Transliteration|zh|[[Taijitu|Tàijítú]]}} design of the [[Song dynasty|late Song dynasty period]].{{efn|Tàijí (太極) being the Primordial One from which the dualities emerged.{{sfn|Eberhard|1986|p=283}}}} This in turn recurs in the seventh century in [[Unified Silla]] (now Korea), where it was known as [[taegeuk]].{{sfn|Snodgrass|2015|p=569}} and also in the Japanese {{Transliteration|ja|futatsudomoe}} and {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}} patterns, the former in association with [[divination|divinatory]] rites, the latter frequently linked to temple drums with [[apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] functions.{{sfn|van Gulik|1982|p=168}} According to [[Jean Herbert]] in these contexts, the {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}} embodied three spirits, the [[Yin and yang|yin-yang dyad]] being represented by an {{Transliteration|ja|[[mitama|aramitama]]}} (rough [[kami]]) and a {{Transliteration|ja|nigimitama}} (gentle kami), while the third comma denoted the {{Transliteration|ja|sakimitama}}, or lucky spirit.{{efn|van Gulik citing [[Jean Herbert]], ''Shintô; at the fountain-head of Japan'', [[Stein and Day]], 1967 p.61.{{sfn|van Gulik|1982|p=168}}}} However, there is no clear evidence tomoe, taijitu and yin-yang is directly related.

[[Neil Gordon Munro]] argued that the basis for the {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}} pattern, a motif found also among the [[Ainu people|Ainu]], was the eastern European and western Asian figure of the [[triskelion]], which he believed lay behind the Chinese [[three-legged crow]] design, and, in his view, its reflex in the mythical Japanese crow, the {{Transliteration|ja|Yatagarasu}} (八咫烏).{{sfn|Chamberlain|1982|p=168,n2.}}{{sfn|Munro|1911|pp=51,63}}

===Tomoe emblem history in Japan===
[[File:Taiko drum at 2008 SFIDBF.JPG|thumb|right|300px|A {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}} design on a [[taiko]] drum]]
As a leather{{efn|The [[Engishiki]] states that the tomo consisted of an outer covering of bearskin, and an inner sheath of cowhide, though variants with deerskin were also manufactured.{{sfn|Munro|1911|p=50}}}} wrist protector {{Transliteration|ja|tomo}} appear to have been employed at least as early as the [[Kofun period]], where they are frequently attested on [[haniwa]] [[terracotta]] figurines depicting archers,{{sfn|Miki|1969|p=149}} and may even have had, aside from their military function, a ritual or fetish value, perhaps related to their [[phallus|phallic]] shape.{{sfn|Miller|1967|p=78}} The pattern was also interpreted as water swirling, and because it is a water-related pattern, the Tomoe pattern was applied to roof tiles on buildings at the end of the Heian period as a fire protection.

The tomoe emblem established itself as a common emblem during the [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara ascendency]] of the late [[Heian period]], around the 10th–11th centuries, and proliferated through to [[Kamakura period|Kamakura]] times. It is thought that a resemblance between the tomoe and the [[Emperor Ōjin]] found in the [[Nihon Shoki|Nihongi]] may also account for its rising popularity among samurai, since  Ōjin was [[Apotheosis|apotheosized]] as a god in Hachiman shrines.{{sfn|SS|1966|p=121}}{{sfn|Numata|1940|p=151}}

In the Nihongi account, when Ōjin was born, inspection of his body revealed a fleshy growth on his arm similar to a warrior's wrist or elbow pad, and for this reason he was called {{Transliteration|ja|homuta}} (誉田: lit.(Lord) Armguard){{sfn|Heldt|2014|p=209}} ([[Old Japanese|OJ]]: {{Transliteration|ojp|pomuda}}),{{efn|''Pomuda-wakë-nö-mikötö''.{{sfn|Philippi|1968|p=572}}}} an old word for a {{Transliteration|ja|tomo}}.{{efn|既産之、宍生腕上、其形如鞆、是肖皇太后爲雄裝之負鞆肖、此云阿叡、故稱其名謂譽田天皇 ('When he was born there was flesh growing on his arm in shape like an elbow pad. As to this resemblance, the Emperor judged that it was the elbow-pad worn as a manly accoutrement. Therefore he was styled by this name, and called the Emperor Homuda').{{sfn|Sakamoto|Inoue|Ienaga|Ōno|1967|pp=105,n.15,363}}{{sfn|Aston|1972|p=254}}}}

===Usage in Ryukyu===
{{multiple image
| image_style = border:none;
| image2 = Mitsudomoe banner white.svg
| width2 = 100
| footer = A Ryukyuan banner seen on ships.
| image1 = 
}}

Fragmentary sources suggest that the [[First Shō dynasty]], who founded the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]], used the symbol if not as their family crest. American historian George H. Kerr claims that King [[Shō Toku]] adopted the mitsudomoe as the crest of the royal house after his successful invasion of [[Kikai Island]] in 1465.{{harv|Kerr|2011|p=101}} The [[Second Shō dynasty]], who ruled the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1470 to 1879, adopted the mitsudomoe as its family crest. Since it was the royal family crest, its usage was once severely restricted. Okinawans who visited Japan shortly after the [[Disposition of Ryukyu|kingdom's annexation]] in 1879 were surprised that mitsudomoe banners were flown everywhere.{{sfn|Taguchi|1978|p=7}} During the American military occupation of [[Okinawa Prefecture]], the [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands]] (USCAR) made a failed attempt to recreate a [[Flag of Ryukyu|Ryukyuan national flag]] with a mitsudomoe, only to find that Okinawans were apathetic towards, or did not recognize, the former royal family's symbol. Today the symbol is still regarded as a symbol for Ryukyu and, to a lesser extent, Okinawa.

==Symbolism and uses==
The {{Transliteration|ja|mitsudomoe}} is closely associated with [[Shinto shrine]]s, in particular [[Hachiman shrine|those dedicated to Hachiman]], the god of war and archery. [[Hachiman]] in Shinto cosmology and ritual, as for example at  [[Hakozaki Shrine]], is repeatedly connected  with the number three.{{sfn|Williams|2007|pp=163–164}} In Shintoist thinking, this number is taken to represent the three aspects of the four mitama or 'souls' (the other, the {{Transliteration|ja|kushimitama}} being considered far rarer).{{sfn|Herbert|2010|pp=42–43}}

It is also commonly displayed on banners and lanterns used in festivals and rituals related to [[Amaterasu| Amaterasu-ōmikami]],{{sfn|Munro|1911|p=48}} who in the [[Kojiki]]  confronts her brother [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo]] when he usurps her terrain on earth by dressing as an archer, adorned with magatama beads and 'an awesome high arm-guard' ({{Transliteration|ja|itu nö takatömö}}).{{efn|伊都之竹鞆.{{sfn|Philippi|1968|pp=74–75 and n.5}}}}

A third element of its symbolic panorama concerns water, an association engendered by its swirling pattern. For this reason, it is said to be located on roofs and gables as a charm against fire.{{sfn|Takamori|Huffman|2007|p=108}}

Since Hachiman was worshipped as the guardian of warriors, it was adopted as a common design element in {{nihongo|Japanese family emblems|家紋|[[Mon (emblem)|kamon]]}} by various [[samurai]] clans{{sfn|Munro|1911|p=62}} such as the [[Nagao clan|Nagao]], [[Kobayakawa clan|Kobayakawa]] and [[Utsunomiya Domain|Utsunomiya]]. Among aristocrats, the [[Saionji family]] used it as its family emblem. The [[Koyasan]] [[Shingon]] sect of Buddhism uses the mitsudomoe as a visual representation of the cycle of life.

Tomoe also is a personal name, dating at least back to [[Tomoe Gozen]] (巴御前), a famous [[Onna-bugeisha|female warrior]] celebrated in ''[[The Tale of the Heike]]'' account of the [[Genpei War]]. In Kyoto's [[Jidai Matsuri]] festival, she appears in the Heian period section of the procession in samurai costume, and parades as a symbol of feminine gallantry.{{sfn|Bauer|Carlquist|1974|p=43}}

The tomoe has also been adopted as a [[corporation|corporate]] [[logo]] in Japan.{{sfn|Garcia|2011|p=23}}

The mitsudomoe is also the logo of the [[OBS Studio]] application since it released in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meaning of the OBS Logo? |url=https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/meaning-of-the-obs-logo.148457/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=OBS Forums |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Similar designs==
The two-fold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} is almost identical in its design elements to the Chinese symbol known as a [[taijitu]], while the three-fold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} is similar to the Korean [[Taegeuk#Tricolored taegeuk|tricolored taegeuk]] which is originated in taijitsu. However, there is no clear evidence tomoe and taijitu is directly related. Also note that the negative space in between the swirls of a fourfold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}} forms a [[swastika]]-like shape, which is fairly prominent in many Indian religions such as [[Hinduism]] and [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]]. A similar design can also be found in the some forms of the [[Celt]]ic spiral [[triskele]] as well as with the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque]] [[lauburu]] and the Sicilian [[Sicily#Regional symbols|Trinacria]].

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Japanese Crest Futatsudomoe 1.svg|{{Transliteration|ja|Futatsudomoe}}, "twofold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}"
File:Hidari mitsudomoe.svg|{{Transliteration|ja|Hidari-mitsudomoe}} ("left threefold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}") is widely used in Shinto shrines and as a [[Mon (emblem)|family emblem]]
File:Tomoe 4 left.svg|{{Transliteration|ja|Yottsudomoe}} ("Fourfold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}")
File:Migiitsutsutomoe.svg|{{Transliteration|ja|Migiitsutsutomoe}} ("Fivefold {{Transliteration|ja|tomoe}}")
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Gankyil]], a symbol in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism composed of three swirling and interconnected blades
* [[Gogok]], a comma-shaped jewel found in the Korean Peninsula
* [[Lauburu]], the Basque cross
* [[Mon (emblem)]]
* [[Pig dragon]] or {{Transliteration|zh|zhūlóng}}, a zoomorphic stone artifact produced in [[Neolithic]] China with a C- or comma-like shape
* [[Triskelion]]

==Notes==
=== Explanatory footnotes ===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}  
*{{Cite book| title = Nihongi:Chronicles of Japan from the earliest Times to A. D. 697 
 | last = Aston
 | first = W. G.
 | author-link = W. G. Aston
 | publisher =[[Tuttle Publishing]]
 | volume =1
 | year = 1972
 | orig-year =1896
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Japanese Festivals
 | last1 = Bauer| first1 = Helen
 | last2= Carlquist| first2 = Sherwin
 | author-link2 =Sherwin Carlquist
 | publisher =[[Tuttle Publishing]]
 | year = 1974
 | orig-year =1965
}}
*{{Cite journal| title=From Woman Warrior to Peripatetic Entertainer: The Multiple Histories of Tomoe
 | last =  Brown| first =Steven T. 
 | journal= [[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies]]
 | date = June 1998
 | volume =58
 | issue =1
 | pages =183–199
 | jstor = 2652649
| doi =  10.2307/2652649}} 
*{{Cite book| title = The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters 
 | last = Chamberlain
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 | publisher =[[Tuttle Publishing]]
 | year = 1982
 | orig-year =1882
}}
*{{Cite book| title =Symmetry: Cultural-historical and Ontological Aspects of Science-Arts Relations; the Natural and Man-made World in an Interdisciplinary Approach
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 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=B8aMAnOEu70C&pg=PA39
 | isbn=  978-3-764-37554-6
}}
*{{Cite book |title       = A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols
 |last        = Eberhard
 |first       = Wolfram
 |author-link = Wolfram Eberhard
 |publisher   = [[Routledge]]
 |year        = 1986
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 |isbn        = 978-0-415-00228-8
 |url-access  = registration
}}
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}}

*{{Cite book| title = The Kojiki: An Account of Ancient Matters 
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 | year = 2014
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 | isbn =978-0-231-16388-0 
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Shinto: At the Fountainhead of Japan 
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 | isbn =  978-1-136-90376-2  
}}

*{{Cite book | title=Nihon no Kamon Taizen (日本の家紋大全)
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*{{Cite book | title=Family Crests of Japan 
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}}
*{{Cite book| title =Analytical Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese 
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 | publisher =[[Dover Publications]]
 | year =1974
 | orig-year =1923
}}

*{{Cite book | title = Okinawa: The History of an Island People
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*{{Cite book| title =Haniwa: the clay sculpture of protohistoric Japan 
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 | year =1969
}}

*{{Cite book| title = The Japanese Language
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*{{Cite journal| title =  Some Origins and Survivals
 | last =  Munro  | first = N. Gordon 
 | author-link=Neil Gordon Munro
 | journal = [[Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan]] 
 | year =1911
 | volume =  38
 | pages = 1–74, 48ff
 | url = https://archive.org/download/in.ernet.dli.2015.70927/2015.70927.Transactions-The-Asiatic-Society-Of-Japan-Vol38-1911.pdf
}}

*{{Cite book| title = Monshō no Kenkyū (紋章の研究: A Study of Crests)
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*{{Cite book| title = Kogo jiten 古語辞典
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 | last3 = Maeda 
 | first3 = Kingorō
 | publisher = Iwanami Shoten
 | year =1974
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*{{Cite book| title = Kojiki
 | last = Philippi
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 | author-link =Don Philippi
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*{{Cite book| chapter =Protecting ''kami'' of the Japanese Nation
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*{{Cite book| title = Nihon Shoki (日本書紀 )
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 | last4 =  Ōno
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 | ref ={{harvid|SS|1966}}
}}   
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}}
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}}
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 | isbn=   978-0-761-83416-8
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120101195553/http://www.otomiya.com/kamon/kika/tomoe.htm Japan Emblem Library - tomoe design patterns] {{in lang|ja}}
*[http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/t/tomoemon.htm JAANUS/ tomoemon]

{{Shinto_shrines}}

[[Category:Visual motifs]]
[[Category:Japanese heraldry]]