Tomoe

Tomoe

Tomoe - This symbol is ubiquitous in Buddhist Shinto temples and throughout Japan. His name, Tomoe, means the words "spinning" or "round" referring to the movement of the earth. The sign is associated with the Yin symbol and has a similar meaning - it is an illustration of the play of forces in space. Visually, the tomoe consists of a blocked flame (or magatama) that resembles tadpoles.

Most often this symbol has three hands (flame), but not uncommon and one, two or four hands. The three-handed symbol is known as Mitsudomoe. The triple division of this symbol reflects the triple division of the world, the parts of which are, in order, earth, heaven and humanity (similar to the Shinto religion).

originally Tomoe Glyph he was associated with the war deity Hachiman and thus was adopted by the samurai as their traditional symbol.

One of the variants of this sign - Mitsudomoe Is the traditional symbol of the Ryukyu Kingdom.