We have a new emblem!
For the last 1.5 years the emblem has been a simple image that I drew by hand with a brush marker, photographed with my phone, and then applied a few filters: the kanji character “武” (that’s “bu” from “bushido” (“武士道”)) surrounded by a circular border.
It’s been fine. It worked, but I never really liked it a lot. It was always just a placeholder.
The old emblem, from fall 2013 until now.
So today I am very proud to reveal Bushido Brewery’s new emblem! Here it is:
Bushido Brewery’s new mon!
This isn’t “just another logo” – it is a mon.
Mon (紋) are traditional emblems from Japan used to identify an individual, family, or business. They are similar to a badge or coat of arms used in Europe and are often highly symbolic.
Mon are traditionally monochrome and color is not a factor in the design. Although there are no set rules in mon design there are many popular composition patterns and motifs. Many feature a roundel encircling images of plant, animal, man-made, natural, or celestial objects. These images are usually abstracted to some degree. Images of religious symbols, geometric shapes, and kanji are also used.
Bushido Brewery’s mon draws upon these classic design forms and qualities to maintain a traditional aesthetic. Our mon symbolizes “Elegance & Strength” by blending peony (“elegance”) and samurai kabuto (“strength”) motifs – an accurate distillation of the core qualities that define Bushido Brewery.
Honestly, it’s actually still a work in progress. There will probably be more iterations on our mon in the future, but I like it so much that I can’t wait to start using it now!
