The pattern shown here was drawn from the treasures of Shosoin, which were introduced from the continent in the 8th century and are kept in the Shosoin Repository.
This pattern, consisting of nine circles, eight around the periphery and one in the center, is called kuyo-mon or hoshi-mon, and has been used since ancient times as a family crest for star-reading. The crests, which were used to decipher the truth of the universe from the stars of the celestial bodies, traveled along the Silk Road to Japan, either on Buddhist or silk.
The crests have been carefully preserved as works of art that tell of history, or they have been handed down from ancestors as family crests that protect the family.
