Here is a collection of 50 Japanese town logos that incorporate stylized kanji characters into the design.
Fujinomiya (Shizuoka): The kanji 宮 (miya) inside a cherry blossom with Mt Fuji petals
Fukuyama (Hiroshima): Bat-shaped 山 (yama) denotes old name of Kōmoriyama ("Bat Mountain")
Ibaraki (Ōsaka): The kanji 茨 (ibara) in the shape of a pigeon
Nishino-omote (Kagoshima): The kanji 西 (nishi)
Ōme (Tōkyō): The kanji 青 (ao) and plum blossom (ume) signify 青梅 (Ōme)
Kanazawa (Ishikawa): The kanji 金 (kana) inside a plum blossom, the Maeda clan symbol
Okutama (Tōkyō): The kanji 奥 (oku)
Hachinohe (Aomori): The kanji 八戸 (Hachinohe) in the shape of a crane (head and wings)
Kitami (Hokkaidō): The kanji 北 (kita) shaped like a sash weight
Yūbari (Hokkaidō): The kanji 夕 (yū) inside a hexagon representing coal
Hitachi (Ibaraki): A flower-shaped 立 (tachi) kanji inside a circle representing the kanji 日 (hi)
Seto (Aichi): The kanji 土 (tsuchi, or "soil") in a clay pot represents the local pottery industry
Shibuya (Tōkyō): The kanji 渋 (shibu)
Yonago (Tottori): The kanji 米 (yona)
Beppu (Ōita): The kanji 別 (betsu), the first character in 別府 (Beppu)
Akita: The kanji 田 (ta) symbolizing arrows, a reference to Akita Castle
Azumino (Nagano): The kanji 安 (an), the first character in 安曇野 (Azumino)
Fujiyoshida (Yamanashi): Mt Fuji and the kanji 吉 (yoshi)
Shinagawa (Tōkyō): The kanji 品 (shina)
Kōchi (Kōchi): The kanji 高 (kō)
Funabashi (Chiba): The kanji 舟 (funa, or "boat")
Kakamigahara (Gifu): The kanji 各 (kaku), the first character in 各務原 (Kakamigahara)
Izumo (Shimane): The kanji 出 (i)
Ishinomaki (Miyagi): The kanji 石 (ishi)
Karatsu (Saga): The kanji 唐 (kara)
Kōka (Shiga): The kanji 甲 (kō)
Shinjuku (Tōkyō): The kanji 新 (shin)
Uji (Kyōto): The kanji 宇 (u)
Nagareyama (Chiba): Seal script style kanji 流 (nagare), representing the Edogawa River
Nabari (Mie): The kanji 名 (na)
Kasuga (Fukuoka): 春 (haru), the first character in 春日 (Kasuga), shaped like local ancient tombs
Otaru (Hokkaidō): The kanji 小 (o) inside a six-pointed star symbolizing snow
Matsumoto (Nagano): Pine (matsu) needles encircle the kanji 本 (moto)
Tachikawa (Tōkyō): The kanji 立 (tachi) and 川 (kawa)
Koganei (Tōkyō): The kanji 小 (ko) shaped like a cherry blossom
Tajimi (Gifu): The kanji 多 (ta) and a Chinese bellflower
Tama (Tōkyō): The kanji 多 (ta) shaped like a pigeon
Kodaira (Tōkyō): The kanji 小平 (Kodaira)
Tenri (Nara): The plum blossom-shaped 天 (ten) is similar to the symbol of the Tenrikyo religion
Yonaguni (Okinawa): The kanji 与 (yo)
Monbetsu (Hokkaidō): The kanji 紋 (mon)
Sendai (Miyagi): The kanji 仙 (sen)
Suzuka (Mie): The kanji 鈴 (suzu) shaped like a bell
Takatsuki (Ōsaka): The kanji 高 (taka)
Taketomi (Okinawa): The kanji 竹 (take)
Yokkaichi (Mie): The kanji 四日 (yokka)
Tsuchiura (Ibaraki): The kanji 土 (tsuchi) represents a flower and the waves on Lake Kasumigaura
Utsunomiya (Tochigi): The kanji 宮 (miya) looks like a turtle shell, a reference to Utsunomiya Castle
Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi): The kanji 山口 (Yamaguchi)
Hachijō (Tōkyō): The kanji 八丈 (Hachijō) arranged in the shape of a bird
Related: Hiragana/katakana town logos
[Link: Wikipedia]
Happenstance
These are awesome. I love kanji--not just their everyday use, but studying their history--and I love logo design. So this borders on porn for me. Thanks!
[ ]Ginko
Wow, the second one looks a lot like the batman logo. :o
[ ]MufinMcFlufin
Haha, after seeing the second one, I had to scroll back to the top to be sure this wasn't a post about batman.
"Ooo, that looks cool...wait, is this supposed to be batman?!? *scroll up* huh, kanji, eh? *scrolls down*...still looks like batman..."
[ ]William
I got about 30% of those, but able to "see" most of them after the explanation.
I think Shinjuku is taking the mick though.
[ ]AdelaideBen
Ah - where's Sapporo! Disappointed!... but still interesting anyhow ?;`)
[ ]Ryan M.
I love this. As an artist, posts like this are always wonderful!
[ ]Mediumjones
These are much more conservative than the Hiragana/katakana logos. Still these are phenomenal marks, I'm so impressed with the graphical communication in Japan's history.
These look redrawn in Illustrator... Were the colors also true to the original form?
Thanks for sharing!
[ ]Poytu
love it
[ ]Thanks a lot
Liron
Its a piety that there are no translations for the Kanji words
[ ]This could have been a great way to learn them
Thanks
Marcin
the last one is GUNDAM!!!!
[ ]Komodo
Very, very cool :)
[ ]Saer_DNA
They would make awesome t-shirts.
[ ]hlm0wu
It's a bit disappointed that I couldn't find Nagasaki. Anyway, thx a lot :)
[ ]Reader
Tatio Ku (Special Ward of Tokyo), also:
å°æ±åŒº
See flag/logo at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Taito,_Tokyo.svg
Maybe you could make additions to your list? I know the title is "50 Japanese town logod with kanji", but I'd like to see it grow and grow!! YES!!! Moar-moar-moar!
Thank you for your awesome list and the illustrations!
[ ]sir jorge
wow, that's so incredible
[ ]Murakami 0032
Very nice! can you make someone for Ghent Belgium? Blue and white, cathedrals with dragons and lion on top. (lion is symbol of flanders and the dragon is the protector of Ghent)
[ ]dude
beautiful design
[ ]turtle
These are pretty cool! :) remind me of tau symbols if anybody has played warhammer 40k you'll know what I mean! ...yeh...I'm a nerd! lol
[ ]Ed Moreno
What a fabulous site!!! I always dreamed of finding something like it. It's pure delight...pure desing...the most exquisite Japanese inventiveness.
[ ]Bravo!!! How about something from Tohoku, especially SENDAI... please?
Anna
=D I found my hometown! Hachinohe, Japan! YAY!
[ ]