Zojoji temple and Tokyo Tower in Japan.
I took this picture on January 1st, 2017.
I like visiting temples and shrines, and I've visited many. Why do I like visiting them
Well, there are some reasons, and one of them is that I can learn Japanese History , politics and politicians at that time by doing so. We can learn even World History sometimes.
I went to Zojoji to join the event "One Million People's Candle Night -Wishing On The Flame-" last Saturday, after having Hau'oli Fruits Pancakes at Eggs 'n Things. This is the second time I've participated in the event. This Candle Night event is hosted by J-Wave and Daichi Wo Mamoru Kai, and is held at Zojoji temple every year, since 2003. 
Oh, by the way, I've heard that Oisix and Daichi Wo Mamoru Kai integrate the managements in October this year. Both are famous for their organic vegetables and natural foods, and the official name of the combined company is "Oisix.daichi". 
"."part on the name is "dot", so we read their new company's name "Oisix dot daichi"
Well, Zojoji temple has its own English version website, so check it out! Also, I found a brochure written in English while visiting Zozoji the other day.
According to the website, Zojoji was the family temple of the Tokugawa family during the Edo piriod. You know, there are so many shoguns of the Tokugawa Shogunate that many Japanese people including me can't remember all the names. But at least we know who is the 1st Shogun and the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Yes, Ieyasu Tokugawa, or 徳川家康 in Japanese.
Ieyasu is his first name, and Tokugawa is the family name, and I write this way in this blog post, I mean, like "Ieyasu Tokugawa", not "Tokugawa Ieyasu". But it seems that either is fine these days.
While visiting Zojoji, I went to Ankokuden, which is one of the buildings located in the premises of Zojoji temple, to get 御朱印, or Goshuin. I'll write about what 御朱印帳 and 御朱印 are, on another occasion.
left: Zojoji's Goshuincho (Green) right: Zojoji's Goshuin
Zojoji has released new design of Goshuincho this year (maybe in April) and it comes in two colors: red and black.
A new product, what we call "Goshuincho band", was released too!... I'm not sure if I can use a word "band" for this, though. I mean, I don't know whether it's so called Japanglish or not.
This also comes in red and black, and I bought the black one.
Zojoji's Goshuincho and Goshuincho bands have the emblem of Mituba-aoi. They are sooooo cool, aren't they
After I put my hands together and prayed at Ankokuden, I saw crests of three hollyhock leaves and a crest of crysanthemum on the purple curtain (I don't know the official name of this curtain, though).
"三つ葉葵", or Mituba-aoi, which means three hollyhock leaves in English, is the emblem of Tokugawa Family.
Since Zojoji was the family temple of the Tokugawa family, we can easily understand the reason why the temple has the crest of three hollyhock leaves. But it also has the crest of chrysanthemum...why I think it is very rare.
Generally speaking, 菊, or chrysanthemum is the crest (or the coat of arms, emblem, etc...) of the Imperial Family.
Last year, I took a trip to Kyoto and visited shrines, temples, Kyoto Imperial Palace, and so on. I asked medium, or a shrine maiden of Heian Jingu, why some shrines have the crest of the chrysanthemum. She told me that shrines which are related to the Imperial Family have the crest of chrysanthemum.
At the entrance of Heian Jingu in Kyoto.
As far as I know, these shrines are Heian Jingu Shrine, Shiramine Jingu in Kyoto, Hie Shrine, Meiji Jingu, Yasukuni Shrine, Togo Shrine and Nogi shrine in Tokyo, though I've never been to Shiramine Jingu in Kyoto...I want to visit someday. And I remember I saw a crest of chrysanthemum at Heian Jingu, Meiji Jingu, Togo Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine and Hie Shrine.
At Meiji Jingu in Harajuku, Tokyo.
Here it is! One of the main Torii (鳥居) gates of Meiji Jingu.
Meji Jingu has its English ver. website, so check it out. On top of that, we can draw omikuji written in English at Meiji Jingu.
The light purple one is Meiji Jingu's Goshuincho.
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Shinmon, the main gate of Yasukuni Shrine
Also, Ise Jigu and Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine must have chrysanthemum. I've been to both Ise Jingu and Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, but I can't remember where crests of chrysanthemum are, so I googled it. I've read some articles in Japanese. It's still difficult for me to explain in Englsih, but I'll try. Well, Ise Jingu seems to have two crests, "花菱紋" (Hanabishi mon) and "十六菊花紋" (Jyuroku kikuka mon). 十六 means 16.
Two small bells with the crest of "花菱紋". You can buy them at Ise Jingu or on the Internet here (written in Japanese, though). This bell comes in many colors....Wow, they have released new 6 colors. Ise Jingu's lucky charm (Omamori) has the same crest on it. I guess it comes in two colors, white and light pink.
More than a few years ago, I gave a white lucky charm, a blue bell and a black one to someone special in my life. 
But I think I should have given him the green one
, because his favorite color is green
. I didn't know that at the time.
Actually, I gave the green one to Mitani-san, whom we (I mean he and I) both know. Because Mitani-san, I sometimes call him Mitanin, was a lawmaker (a member of the House of Representatives, or the Lower House) at that time, and his theme color was green. He is making an effort to be a member of the Diet again. Well, good luck, Mitani-san.
May the force be with you.
So, back to the topic, Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine's crest is the one in omikuji, the small paper near the two bells in the photo above.They combined two patterns, "剣花菱"(Ken Hanabishi) and "二重亀甲紋"(Njyu-kikkoumon), into that crest.
BTW, I always think that Izumo Taisha should have its own English ver. website like Ise Jingu and Zojoji temple have both Japanese ver. and Englsih ver.
When I visited Hie Shrine (English ver.) this year, I found a lantern or something which has a crest of chrysanthemum and crests of two hollyhock leaves, or asarum caulescens.
Hie Shrine in Tokyo. There is the same crest of asarum caulescens on the other 3 sides of the lantern, though the photo shows only 1 side.
I told a shrine maiden of Hie Shrine that I had heard shrines which are related to the Imperial Family have the crest of crysanthemum. She said, "Hie Shrine has a connection with the Tokugawa Family. That's why we have the emblem of two hollyhock leaves."
After I left the shrine, I wondered why the crest had two hollyhock leaves, not three. Tokugawa Family's emblem is "三つ葉葵" (Mitsuba-aoi), while Hie Shrine's crest is "双葉葵" or "二葉葵" （we pronounce both "Futaba-aoi". Although one Chinese charcter is different from the other one, both kanji characters mean the same thing in this context. I mean 双 and 二. They mean two. ）
So I looked it up on the Internet. It seems that the emblem of three hollyhock leaves, Mituba-aoi, comes from that of asarum caulescens, Futaba-aoi. And Mituba-aoi doesn't exist in the real world.
,
They say Ieyasu's original name was Takechiyo Matsudaira, and that the Matsudaira clan (松平氏) is said to have claimed descent from the Minamoto clan (源氏). They also say that Matsudaira's emblem was Aoi, so Ieyasu started to use the crest of Mituba-aoi.
Takechiyo Matsudaira changed his name to Ieyasu Tokugawa...maybe he changed his name many times...Some people say he changed his name so that he could claim that he was a descendant of Minamoto chan. People at that time said only descendants of the Minamoto clan would be able to become 征夷大将軍, or "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians "(too long lol) So, he had to do that... I want to explain more, such as the Nitta clan (新田氏), why Ieyasu didn't want people to use the same crest of Mituba-aoi, but it's still hard for me in English. I have to improve my English skill, you know.
On the other hand, some people even say Ieyasu Tokugawa is a descendant of the Kamo clan, or 賀茂氏 (Kamouji), and that's why he came to use the crest of three hollyhock leaves which derived from asarum caulescens.
It is said that Shimogomo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto have used the crest of Futaba-aoi for a long time and that both shrines enshrine the guardian deity of the Kamo clan.
Well, have you ever heard of the Aoi Matsuri, or 葵祭
It's one of the famous festivals in Kyoto, and is held on May 15th every year. The other name of this festival is the Kamo Festival, 賀茂祭. Kamo shrines (Shimogamo shrine and Kamigamo shrine), whose shrine crest is the Futaba-aoi, dedicate asarum caulescens to Kyoto Imperial Palace, and many things are decorated with them. If you can read Japanese, please check out the page about the history of Aoi Matsuri, on the website of Kyoto City Tourism Association (written in Japanese). Also Kamigamo Shrine's website writes about the Aoi Matsuri (this one is written in English).
I took these two photos two years ago when I joined the candle night for the first time. The right one is the grave of the Imperial Princess Kazunomiya. And the one in the left photo is not the grave of her husband, Iemochi. It's Ieyoshi's.
As I mentioned earlier, Zojoji was the family temple of the Tokugawa family, and many Shoguns of the Tokugawa Shogunate are buried at Zojoji, and one of them is Iemochi Tokugawa.
Iemochi (家茂 in kanji characters), was the 14th Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Also his wife, the Imperial Princess Kazunomiya, is burried in Zojoji temple.
"公武合体", or kobu gattai, is "the union of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate". It was a policy and also a political movement which occurred at the end of the Edo period.
Why did they have to adopt the policy like that
At the end of the Edo period, some advocated "公武合体", while others advocated "尊王攘夷" (Sonno Joi), which means "the reverence for the Emperor and expelling foreigners".
The Tokugawa Shogunate adopted a foreign policy called "鎖国", or Sakoku, which isolated Japan from other countries, and "鎖国" lasted for more than 200 years during the Edo period.
In 1853, Perry, a Commodore of the United State Navy, arrived at Uraga in Japan. Since Commodore Perry led black ships, Japanese people call this historic event "黒船来航"（Kurofune Raikou）. He came to Japan to open the country to the world.
The Convention of Kanagawa (or Treaty of Kanagawa) was signed in 1854. This means the 鎖国 (Sakoku) policy ended, and Japan was opened to other nations. The Tokugawa Shogunate began to lose its political power. Oh, the treaty was signed in a place called Yokohama, which is located in Kanagawa (it's not Tokyo), Japan, so these names of the convention include "Kanagawa". The official name of the convention in English is very long... In Japanese, it's called "日米和親条約". Wow, I found an interesting page on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. They mention "the US-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity" and "Commodore Matthew Perry" as well. 
The port of Yokohama itself was officially opened in 1859, because of "日米修好通商条約", or "Treaty of Amity and Commerce", which was signed in Edo (present-day Tokyo), in 1858.
I took this photo when I visited Yokohama last May (I mean, in May this year) to have exclusive pancakes at Eggs 'n Things Yokohama. I'd love to try their Yokohama burger the next time I go to Yokohama.
One of the staff members is very good at drawing.
Get back to the original topic...
Some people who wanted the Tokugawa Shogunate to maintain the 鎖国 policy thought that the Tokugawa Shogunate was so powerless that they signed the treaty with a foreign country, and that the Shogunate should return the political power to the Emperor, while other people supported the opening of Japan.
So, the Tokugawa Shogunate tried to regain power by the marriage of the Shogun, Iemochi, and the Prince, Kazunomiya, who was a sister of the Emperor Komei.
Although they say that the Imperial Princess Kazunomiya, or 皇女和宮, refused the marriage at first (Of course she did! It was a political marriage. Besides, she was engaged to the Prince Arisugawa Taruhito), they also say Iemochi and Kazunomiya had a good relationship. Well, I was very relieved to hear that. I also heard before that Iemochi was not only handsome but also really smart.
Oh, Ieyasu, the 1st Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, is enshrined at Nikko Toshogu Shrine (English ver.) Well, I want Nikko Toshogu to release Goshuincho with a sleeping cat and three wise monkeys again. I read that it came in red and sky blue last year and the red one was released two years ago for the first time, and they were limited time offers. These three are written in Japanese, but you can see the photos of Goshuincho. Their famous "Sleeping cat" is so cute, right? We call him or her "眠り猫"（Nemuri-neko）. I love cats.
The three wise monkeys are said to embody "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".We call them 三猿 (Sanen) in Japanese
Kara-mon of the Nijo-jo.
In 1867, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, who was the 15th and the last Shogun, returned the sovereignty to the Emperor. This means the Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end. We call this historical event"大政奉還"（Taisei Houkan), and in English, "Restoration of Imperial Rule".
That's why Kara-mon, a Chenese-style gate, has the crest of chrysanthemum. There must have been a lot of emblems of Mitsuba-aoi everywhere at Nijo-jo, before Yoshinobu returned political power to the Emperor. I'm sure the crests of Mitsuba-aoi were replaced by these of chrysanthemum.
,According to the article (written in Japanese), they found that some crests of Mituba-aoi had been removed after the restoration of Imperial rule, but others still remain today. Sounds nice.
On December 31th, 2016.