Therefore, each member of the Imperial family used a slightly modified version of the seal.

Earlier in Japanese history, when Emperor Go-Daigo, 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, who kept the imperial 16-petalled mon.

[citation needed] The symbol is a yellow or orange chrysanthemum with black or red outlines and background.

A central disc is surrounded by a front set of 16 petals.

Other members of the Imperial Family use a version with 14 single petals, while a form with 16 single petals is used for orders, passports, Diet members' pins, and other items that carry or represent the authority of the Emperor.