Left Three Tomoe (Outline) Can Cooler

The left and right sides of the tomoe crest are not determined by the direction of the swirl, but rather by a rational name created from the design. This is something that a professional designer would understand immediately, but a teacher who has never created a design may only be concerned with the direction of the swirl. However, even a professional designer may sometimes get confused about the left and right sides of the tomoe. In such cases, they recall a useful oral tradition... First, they clench their left palm and look at their wrist. The shape is that of a left tomoe. If they clench their right palm, the shape of a right tomoe appears immediately (from "The Story of Family Crests" by Fusao Awagasaka, p.61). This design is an outline (karakami) specification. Karakami is a technique... where a design is created, the tomoe is cut out to make a stencil, and then the stencil is placed on the fabric and paint is applied with a brush (reference: "The Magic of Manji, The Curse of Tomoe" by Fusao Awagasaka, p.146).