Imperial Seal of Japan
From Freepedia
 Imperial Seal of Japan |
 The original of "the Constitution of Japan" |
The Imperial Seal of Japan is called 菊の御紋 Kiku No Gomon in Japanese, which, literally, means "Noble Symbol of Chrysanthemum" or "Imperial Seal of Chrysanthemum" .
The Imperial Seal is used by members of the Japanese Imperial family. Under the Meiji constitution, no one was permitted to use the Imperial Seal except the Emperor of Japan, so each member of the Imperial family used a slightly modified version of the seal. Shinto shrines related to the Imperial family also use the relevant modified versions of the Imperial Seal as their seals, and some other Shinto shrines are not related to the Imperial family but are also permitted to use the chrysanthemum as a part of their seal.
As of 2005, there is no law that specifies what is the National Seal of Japan. As a custom, the Imperial Seal is treated as if it were the National Seal. It is on the cover of Japanese passports, for example.
