Southern Crane Tie

The Nanbu family crest is a crane design. The ancestors of the Nanbu family had lived in the Ou region since the time when the concept of Ezochi still lingered. It began when Nanbu Mitsuyuki joined Yoritomo's army in its conquest of the Fujiwara clan in Hiraizumi, and as a reward, they were given control over the Nukanobu region, which spans from northern Iwate Prefecture to Aomori, and later expanded their territory to Ichinohe, Shichinohe, Shinohe, and Kunohe. (Omitted) This is a story that has been passed down about the time when they defeated the Akita clan of Dewa. The general at that time was Nanbu Moriyuki. Coincidentally, two red-crowned cranes descended into the camp, and flew up just above the flags several times. It was considered a good omen that heaven was on their side, and they achieved a great victory that day. As a result, the 'crane' was adopted as a crest symbolizing good fortune. And it evolved from a diamond-shaped crane to a circle crane, and then to a facing crane (Southern Crane). (Reference: 'Daimyo Kamon' by Kenichi Takahashi)