Nakamura Kichiemon Commendation Shield Playing Cards

【Nakamura Kichiemon】A variation of the Swallowtail butterfly. The yagō is Harimaya. He is the founder of a lineage that begins with the eldest son of the third Nakamura Utarō (making him the second son if the second Nakamura Tokizō, an adopted son who died young, is counted as the eldest). Notable family members include Nakamura Utarō and Nakamura Matagorō. The history of this name is relatively recent. ＜This butterfly differs slightly from the typical Swallowtail, characterized by its rounder shape. In family crests, such variations are distinguished from the standard design by being labeled as 'variations.' ...Unlike most family crests, which have origins dating back to the mid-Edo period, Kichiemon was the first to bear this name and did not inherit his father's name. In 1951, he was the first kabuki actor to be awarded the Order of Culture (as noted in 'The Story of Family Crests' by Awazaka Tsumio).＞