Tomoe

Tomoe (巴, also written 鞆絵),[a] commonly translated as "comma",[2][3] is a comma-like swirl symbol used in Japanese mon (roughly equivalent to a heraldic badge or charge in European heraldry).

The character 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 most common view is that tomoe patterns originated in magatama jewelry from late Jōmon period approximately 1,000 BCE of Japan which was used for the shinto rituals.

[15] In China, the double comma form came to be assimilated to the Yin-Yang philosophy of opposing male/female principles, formalized in the Tàijítú design of the late Song dynasty period.

[18][19] As a leather[e] wrist protector 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, [21] and may even have had, aside from their military function, a ritual or fetish value, perhaps related to their phallic shape.

[9][22] 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 homuta (誉田: lit.

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.

[27] 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 Ryukyuan national flag with a mitsudomoe, only to find that Okinawans were apathetic towards, or did not recognize, the former royal family's symbol.

[29] It is also commonly displayed on banners and lanterns used in festivals and rituals related to Amaterasu-ōmikami,[30] who in the Kojiki confronts her brother Susanoo when he usurps her terrain on earth by dressing as an archer, adorned with magatama beads and 'an awesome high arm-guard' (itu nö takatömö).

[32] Since Hachiman was worshipped as the guardian of warriors, it was adopted as a common design element in Japanese family emblems (家紋, kamon) by various samurai clans[33] such as the Nagao, Kobayakawa and Utsunomiya.

Eneru, the antagonist of the Skypiea arc of One Piece – whose body is made of lightning – has a shoulder accessory consisting of four drums with mitsudomoe designs, which he can tap with his staff to amplify his power.

Also note that the negative space in between the swirls of a fourfold tomoe forms a swastika-like shape, which is fairly prominent in many Indian religions such as Hinduism and Jainism and Buddhism.