Elements of Japanese Design

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Despite the title this is not a handbook. - Rated
Q A handbook serves for reference, but this book is rather unsystematic, it also lacks a real family register for heraldic purposes. On the other hand it is not a real art book either, lacking research in depth and conclusions. At the utmost, it is a nice try, or rather a beginning.

Elegant Japanese heraldic designs - Rated
I found this book absolutely fascinating. It explores the use of stylised designs as Japanese family crests, sometimes considered analogous to European heraldry. These designs, almost always circular, are called mons. In a series of introductory chapters, the author tells us about the origins of mons, their use throughout history and something of their meaning and the genesis of particular family crests. The bulk of the book is page after page of black and white representations of different mons. Many are based on particular plants and all those representing the same plant are grouped together. This gives us for example almost a page of chrysanthemum designs but rather fewer hemp designs. Other mons are based on animals and man made objects. Each group of mons has notes on its usage.