FFM-4 JS Mikuma's Ship Crest : Legend Of The Sun And The Hawk

FFM-4 JS Mikuma's Logo Mark. Image : JMSDF

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ( JMSDF ) had just unveiled the ship emblem of its fourth Mogami-class multi-mission stealth frigate the JS Mikuma ( FFM-4 ). It was the result of a design competition which was open to the public from 6th Jun to 5th Jul 2022. Out of a total of 157 submissions, the winning piece was selected by the pre-commissioning ship crew themselves and it featured a mythical hawk known as the Hitaka, the sun, the moon, a star ( Polaris ) and the Big Dipper. 

Apart from Polaris and the Big Dipper, all the above entities are key characters in the Legend of the Sun and Hawk ( 日と鷹神話 ) recorded in the ancient text known as Toyonishi Manuscript ( 豊西記 ). It is the story of the creation of the Mikuma river and the three hills around it.

In Japanese, the ship's crest or emblem is known as the logo mark ( ロゴマーク rogo maku ). My previous articles on the JS Mogami and the JS Kumano's logo mark can be found here, JS Noshiro's here and that of the JS Ise's possibly plagiarised logo mark here. 　

Manga rendition of the Legend of the Sun and the Hawk
 by Kuze Mizuki. Image : yamataikoku9.web.fc2.com

Sun and Hawk Legend

The Mikuma River ( 三隈川 mikumagawa ), namesake of the multi-mission frigate JS Mikuma , refers to the section of the Chikugo River that flows westward through the city of Hita right in the heart of Kyushu. The Hita Basin ( 日田盆地 Hita Bonchi ) is located just north of one of Kyushu's most active volcano Mt Aso and it is surrounded by mountains. It lies within the boundaries of Oita Prefecture, an area known in the past as Bungonokuni ( 豊後国 ).

Legend had it that a long long time ago there was a gigantic lake in the Hita Basin. One day, a humongous bird known as the Sun Hawk ( 日鷹 Hitaka ) flew across the lake from the east, dipped the feathers of its wings into the water and then flew north as the sun rises and disappeared. That immediately triggered off terrifying earth tremors and suddenly turned day into night.

The huge whirlpools formed and monstrous waves battered the cliffs on the western banks of the lake for three days and three nights. The cliffs eventually collapsed and the water gushed out and formed the westward flowing Mikuma River. As a result of the outflow, the lake was completely drained. The torrent also created three knolls which are known as the Hill of the Sun ( 日隈 Hinokuma ) to the south, Hill of the Moon  ( 月隈 Tsukikuma ) to the north and the Hill of the Star (星隈 Hoshikuma ) to the west. 

Collectively these hills are known as the Three Hills of Mikuma ( 三隈三山 Mikuma Sanzan ) or the Three Knolls of Hita ( 日田三丘 Hita Mitsuo ). These geological features still define the terrain where the Mikuma river flows through today.

Hita City, Mikuma River and the three hills

Could this ancient foklore have a possible scientific explanation? Absolutely! Japan has numerous active and dormant volcanos and many of these have caldera lakes. The rims of these crater lakes are subjected to weathering and erosion and can obviously be destroyed by subsequent seismic activities or even an eruption. Mt Aso, located just south of Hita City, has a caldera with a circumference of 120km, one of the biggest in the world, and that could have once been filled with water. Satellite imagery even showed a breach over its western rim from which a river flowed.

Aso Caldera NS 25km, EW 17km. Circumference 120km. Wikipedia

JS Mikuma's Logo Mark

The ship's crest of the JS Mikama takes a pentagonal shape with the silhouette of the mythical Sun Hawk in black prominantly featured at its centre. Its wings are spread and stretched right across the entire crest with the wingtips extending a little beyond the geometry of the crest. Superimposed on the hawk are the silhouettes of water in light blue and that of the warship in grey. They signify that the JS Mikuma will have the power of the water to move forcefully forwards.

Above the hawk is the sun, which represents Hinokuma, the hill of the sun. It is positioned above all perhaps because in Shintoism the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Okami is regarded as the supreme deity.

The moon at the lower left represents the Tsukikuma, the hill of the moon. According to JMSDF, the star at the lower right of the crest is Polaris ( 北極星 Hokkyokusei ), the north star. It represents the Hoshikuma, the hill of the star. Next to it is the asterism known as the Big Dipper ( 北斗七星 Hokutoshichisei ) with its seven stars in its familiar inverted ladle configuration. Interestingly, these stars are orientated in the correct position as they would in the night sky, with the two stars of the Big Dipper's bowl pointing towards Polaris. Kudos to the designer for getting this right! Together, Polaris and the Big Dipper would herald safe navigation on the high seas.

The crest is framed by a perimeter of dark grey within which the words Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is written at the top and FFM-4 JS Mikuma is written at the bottom. Lastly, the words みくま, the ship's name in hiragana, is placed in front of the silhouettes of the hawk, water and warship. 

JS Mikuma's ship crest was designed by Sasaki Ruri ( 佐々木留理 ) from Nara Prefecture.

Stars of the Big Dipper's bowl points towards Polaris ( top right )
Image : Miguel Claro via Space.com

Note : The Japanese kanji character 三 ( mi ) means three while 隈 ( kuma ) means corner or nook. In combination 三隈 ( Mikuma ) literally means three corners or three nooks. However, in this case we know that it means the three hills of Hita.　

Sumimasen, Is That The Singapore Lion On Your Logo Mark?

 



Logo mark of JDS Ise ( DDH-182 )



The other day I was just browsing the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ( JMSDF ) website like I always used to now and then. They have recently launched the Maya-class Aegis destroyer Haguro ( DDG-180 ) and there is an open campaign for the design of the ship's logo mark. That's what the Japanese call the ship's crest or ship's emblem, the logo mark ( ロゴマーク rogo maku ). It's a routine publicity exercise for the JMSDF and they have conducted these competitions whenever there is a launch of a major vessel in the past few years. To let the designers have an idea of what would be expected, JMSDF kindly provided some references of the logo marks of several of their ships in active service. All seems well until something very out of the place caught my eye : the logo mark of the helicopter carrier Ise.

It may initially look like any other ship crest with the usual sword, shield, rope, ship name, pennant number and ship's motto but the red lion head motif stood out like a sore thumb as it is undoubtedly almost an exact copy of the national symbol of Singapore.

The reference logo marks on JMSDF website :
Kaga, Izumo, Maya, Ise, Hyuga and Murasame.

More reference logo marks from JMSDF FB

 The Two Lions



The Lion Head, a national symbol of Singapore
in pantone 032 ( red ).
Downloaded from National Heritage Board, Singapore

The Ise lion head for comparison



Comparing the two lion logos, it is not difficult to see that the Ise lion is a slightly modified version of the Singapore lion. Minor changes were made to the eye, the chin, the nose and the mane but the general outline of the logo does not differ much from the original Singapore lion. The similarities are too striking to be ignored.

But how would we know which is the original and which is the copy? Consider this : the Singapore lion logo has been designated a national symbol by the government of Singapore since 1986 while the helicopter carrier Ise was only launched in August 2009 and commissioned in March 2011. Its current logo mark was therefore designed and officially adopted sometime between 2009 and 2011.

The Singapore Lion Head Symbol

Singapore, a tiny sovereign nation in South East Asia, is also known as the Lion City. The Malay Annals has it that in the year 1299 Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Palembang, landed on the island of Temasek after his fleet survived a terrible tropical storm. He caught a fleeting sight of a strange animal with a red body, black head and white breast before it disappeared into the jungle and was told it was a lion. Believing it to be a good omen, he decided to build a new city there and renamed the island Singapura which in the Sanskrit language means " lion city ".

The lion has therefore been associated with Singapore since time in memorial and is indeed featured on its coat of arms. However, since the national flag and the coat of arms are official symbols of Singapore, their use would be restricted and subjected to strict regulations. A less formal symbol that is easily recognizable and distinctive to Singapore is required so that individuals, organizations and corporations may use it to promote a sense of national identity.

As such, the government of Singapore invited local art schools and advertising agencies to produce a new symbol that best exemplifies the characteristics of the nation. Among many entries that depicted high rise public housing, palm trees and various lions, a winning design emerged. The lion head logo created by Michael Lee, then 33 years old, senior art director with Gartshore Keer and Lim advertising agency, was selected and was adopted as Singapore's alternative national symbol in 1986.

The lion represents courage, strength and excellence. The symbol is set in solid red against a white background, the colours of Singapore's national flag. The five strands of the lion's mane represents Singapore's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

The lion head symbol has since proliferated and can be frequently found printed on the packaging of made in Singapore produce and incorporated as company logos, among other things. By 1990, the Republic of Singapore Air Force has also replaced its old Yin and Yang inspired roundel with the lion head roundel.

The lion head roundel on the RSAF's F-15SG fighter.

Being one of the national symbols of Singapore means that the use of the lion head symbol still falls under some form of guideline. For example, the design may not be modified in any way or have any graphics or words superimposed over it. It can however be depicted in outline form, be embossed ( and perhaps also be debossed ) and be portrayed as a watermark. Its official colours are Pantone 032 ( red ), white and black.

The Straits Time of Singapore article 23rd July 1986
Source : National Library Board / SPH

JMSDF Helicopter Carrier Ise's Logo Mark

JDS Ise is a Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer of the JMSDF. Its name is derived from the ancient Japanese Province of Ise ( 伊勢国 Ise no kuni ), an area which in modern day covers most of Mie Prefecture in the Kinki region east of Osaka. Its namesake also includes the Ise Grand Shrine, one of the three most sacred Shinto shrines in Japan.

Despite being officially classified as a " helicopter carrying destroyer ", the Ise is actually helicopter carrier characterized by its flattop flight deck and island type bridge and control tower.

The JS Ise underway. Source : JMSDF

Unlike more recently commissioned JMSDF warships like the helicopter carrier Kaga or the destroyer Maya which had acquired their ship logo marks through design competitions open to the public, it seemed that the Ise had hers designed by her commanding officer, a certain Captain Hoshiyama Ryoichi ( 星山良一 ).

Hoshiyama graduated from the Japan National Defense Academy in 1982 ( 26th batch of graduates ). He was the last commanding officer of the helicopter destroyer Haruna ( DDH-141 ) from 2007 to 2009 after which he was appointed commanding officer of Pre-commissioning Unit Ise from 21st Aug 2009 to 15th Mar 2011 under the auspices of the Fleet Research & Development Command ( 開発隊群 ). He was also Ise's first commanding officer after her commissioning from 16th Mar 2011 to 31st Jul 2012. The list of current and past commanders of JDS Ise can be seen here, just above the footnote, in Japanese only.








Logo mark of JDS Ise ( DDH-182 )

The basic design of Ise's logo mark is that of an ovoid seal with golden coloured ropes at the rims. It has a central shield supported by two swords with the usual ship's motto on blue scrolls in English. This is very similar to the layout of the United States Navy ship's crest design and very different from the usual Japanese ship logo mark designs.

The flower motif, the hanabishi ( 花菱 ), represents the emblem of the Ise Grand Shrine and the green ladder-like design that leads to it represents the sanguukaidou ( 参宮街道 ), the path that the pilgrims take when they visit the shrine and it also represents the passage of time from the moment the shrine was constructed till modern day. The lion is supposed to signify the strength of Ise. The ship silhouette is of course the helicopter carrier Ise viewed from the front. 2011 was the year of her commissioning and the ship's motto is clearly spelled out in English : Readiness ( 即応 ), Expertness ( 高練度 ) and Integrity ( 誠実 ). The ship's name and pennant number were also included.




Hanabishi of the Ise Grand Shrine



Ship's crest of USS Truxtun DDG-103
exemplifies the usual American design.
Source : Wikipedia




The typical JMSDF ship logo mark is frequently round, simple and
elegant, with the ship's name in English as well as Japanese.
Source : JMSDF



Another example of JMSDF ship logo mark.
It is unconventional to have the ship's name written in kanji.
Source : JMSDF
 

Hoshiyama's lion head not only adorns Ise's logo mark, it is also found printed on Ise's promotional brochures, photo albums, wall-sized posters, sometimes in colours other than red. It has also made it onto many of the ship's official and unofficial paraphernalia like patches, badges, coasters, phone cases, collar pins, caps and mugs.




JDS Ise brochure Source : 4travel.jp




Commemorative Photo Album cover.
Source : blog.goo.ne.jp



Ise logo mark as wall backdrop for photo
taking during a public event in 2018



JDS Ise hangar screen : trained by a hundred battles 百戦練磨
 Source : 4travel.jp

Lion head symbol imprinted on a curtain.

Hoshiyama Ryouichi

Captain Hoshiyama Ryoichi as CO Ise in a photo dating from 2011.
The calligraphy on the wall reads " Ise ". Source : J-navy.sakura.ne.jp

 After his stint as the commanding officer of the Ise, Captain Hoshiyama was appointed Commander, Kure Fleet Training Command. According to published Japanese MOD documents ( Page 5 Number 5 ) on the re-employment status of retired senior officers, Hoshiyama retired on 9th Feb 2016 at the age of 56 years old, relinquishing his final post as the commander of the Sasebo Naval Base. He subsequently found employment in the private sector on 23rd Jun 2016, joining Imabari Ship Building Co. Ltd, Japan's biggest shipbuilder, as a senior manager in charged of workplace safety and quality control.


In my opinion, Hoshiyama's design looks amateurish and lacks the usual finesse and elegance typical of other Japanese warship logo marks. He tried to copy the structure of the American ship's badge but failed to understand the various components that made up the badge and his design ended up with a central shield that didn't quite look like a proper shield and was without a crest. The ship's motto was written in English rather than his native Japanese reflects the lack of originality. The designs on the shield also looks messy with the lion head, hanabishi, pilgrim's path and ship silhouette all over the place. The scroll on which the ship's motto was written also lacks contrast with the front and back of the scroll in different shades of blue and blue-grey.


Hoshiyama should be called upon to explain how he designed the logo mark of the Ise, in particular, how the lion head motif came to be. Did he knowingly or unknowingly copy the Singapore lion head symbol and modified it slightly to suit his purpose? If that was the case he would have been guilty of plagiarism and would have violated the regulations governing the use of Singapore's national symbol. To recapitulate, the lion head symbol should not be modified in any way and has to be used in a tasteful and respectful manner by Singaporean entities for promoting a sense of national identity. Foreign entities are therefore excluded from any authorized use of the symbol. The fact that this had gone unnoticed for so long was what amazed me. After all, JDS Ise did make a port call to Singapore in 2016 during the Asean Defense Minister's Meeting - Plus ( ADMM+ ). Somebody should have noticed something.

Frankly speaking, the JMSDF might be better off if it conducts a competition to redesign the Ise's logo mark. The collective talent of hundreds of amateur and professional artists and designers will certainly beat the artistic prowess of a ship's captain, hopefully resulting in a better logo mark. Unless, of course, if the JMSDF intends to donate the Ise to the Singapore Navy, then there is no real need to redesign anything apart from changing the Hoshiyama lion to the Singapore lion! Domo arigato gozaimasu!!