Sanada's Six Coins Postcard

The Sanada Roku Mon Sen or Zenimon is a crest design. While it is referred to by various names, such as "Sanadazeni" in "Heian Monkan" and "Mon Den", and "Sanada Roku Bunsen" in "Mon no Kokoro" and "Nihon no Monsho". Munan sen refers to a coin with only a square hole, as seen in this design. The Sanada clan, who ruled Matsushiro Domain in Shinano Province, is particularly famous for using the Munan sen design, which symbolizes the six coins needed after death. The six coins, or "rokumon sen", represent the six paths of Buddhism: hell, hungry spirits, animals, asura, humans, and heaven. In battle, the six linked coins were seen as a symbol of the wearer's willingness to risk death, and were feared by enemies as a payment to cross into the underworld. The Roku Rensen mon is derived from