You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Japanese. (June 2017)Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consideradding a topic to this template: there are already 1,368 articles in themain category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:桐紋]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template{{Translated|ja|桐紋}} to thetalk page. For more guidance, seeWikipedia:Translation.

The5–7 Paulownia (五七桐,Go-shichi (no) Kiri) is themon (crest or emblem) used by theprime minister of Japan, theCabinet, and parts of theexecutive branch of theGovernment, and is one of thenational emblems of Japan. It resembles a stylizedpaulownia with5–7–5 flowers, and is one of various paulowniamon, collectively known as thepaulownia crests (桐紋,kirimon) or thepaulownia flower crests (桐花紋,tōkamon).^[1][2]

Before thechrysanthemum crest was used extensively, the paulownia crest originally was the private symbol of theJapanese Imperial Family, from as early as the sixteenth century. TheToyotomi clan, led byToyotomi Hideyoshi, later adopted the paulownia for use as the crest of his clan. After theMeiji Restoration, the crest was eventually adopted as the symbol of the Japanese government.^[3][4]

It is now mainly used by the Japanese government, as a contrast to thechrysanthemum crest which represents theemperor as the symbol of thesovereignty of the State, and members of theImperial Family.

More than 140 designs exist of the paulownia crests. The most common one is the5–3 paulownia (五三桐,Go-san no Kiri), consisting of three leaves and aninflorescence of 3–5–3 flowers.^[1][2] It is used by theMinistry of Justice, theImperial Guard Headquarters, and theUniversity of Tsukuba.

The 5–7 Paulownia and 5–3 Paulownia are also called "Go-shichi Giri" and "Go-san Giri" without theparticle "no" respectively, due toconsonant mutation ("Kiri" → "Giri") known asrendaku in theJapanese language. The paulownia crests contain the leaves and flowers ofPaulownia tomentosa ("princess tree"), which is called "kiri" (桐) or "shirogiri (白桐)" in Japanese.

Design	Image	Name	Japanese	Description
5-3 Paulownia		"Maru ni Go-san no Kiri"[5]	丸に五三桐[5]	According to a study by Japan Kamon Society (ja:日本家紋研究会,Nihon Kamon Kenkyūkai), about 70% of the paulownia crests use thisroundel of the 5-3 Paulownia.
		"Go-san Oni Kiri"[6]	五三鬼桐[6]	The 5-3 Paulownia flowers of this design resembleoni's sharp horns.
5-7 Paulownia		"Go-shichi no Kiri"[7]	五七桐[7]	The plain 5-7 Paulownia has been used by those in power and is the official emblem of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the Government today. It resembles a stylized paulownia with 5-7-5 flowers.
		"Taikō Kiri"[8]	太閤桐[8]	Toyotomi Hideyoshi used the 5-3 Paulownia and 5-7 Paulownia crests, and this was one of his officialmon. A retiredkampaku was calledtaikō [ja], which commonly referred to him.
Other		"Tosa Kiri"[9]	土佐桐[9]	TheTosaYamauchi clan used this variant, which came from the crest thatYamauchi Kazutoyo received from Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
		"Kiri Agehachō"[10]	桐揚羽蝶[10]	This design shows aswallowtail butterflymimicking paulownia. It resembles the swallowtail butterflymon used by the famedTaira clan, which was one of the most important and powerful clans of Japan.

• 
  This emblem began to be used by the prime minister in 2003, and was inspired by theUS presidential seal.^[11] It is no longer frequently used, but still appears on some podiums.
• 
  The 5–7 paulownia seen on a logo used by the Prime Minister's Office
• 
  The 5–7 paulownia appears on, among other travel documents, theTravel Document for Return to Japan
• 
  The 5–7 paulownia on a stamp above the seal of theTaichung Martyrs' Shrine
• 
  The 5–7 paulownia seen on the clothes of aSamurai
• 
  The 5–7 paulownia seen on the insignia of theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers
• 
  The 5–3 paulownia seen in the logo of theImperial Guard Headquarters
• 
  The 5–3 paulownia seen in the logo used by theUniversity of Tsukuba

• Mon (emblem)
• National emblems of Japan
• Order of the Paulownia Flowers
• Sanmon Gosan no Kiri

• Kamon Database by KamonDB: Kirimon(in Japanese)
• Kamon Database by Studio Hata: Kirimon(in Japanese)
• Kamon Database by Kamon no Iroha: Kirimon(in Japanese)
• Japan Crest free material hakkodaiodo—JapanKamon Image material(in Japanese)

This article related to government in Japan is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• National symbols of Japan
• Japanese coats of arms
• Japanese heraldry
• Japanese government stubs

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2019
• Articles needing translation from Japanese Wikipedia
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)
• All stub articles