Southern Crane Watch

The crest of the Nanbu family is a crane. The ancestors of the Nanbu family had lived in the Ou region since the time when the concept of Ezochi still lingered. The family's history began when Nanbu Mitsuyuki joined Minamoto no Yoritomo's army in its conquest of the Fujiwara clan in Hiraizumi, and for their achievements, they were given control over the Nukanobu region, which spans the northern part of Iwate Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture. They later expanded their territory to include Ichinohe, Shichinohe, Shinohe, and Kunohe. According to a story passed down, during the conquest of the Akita clan in Dewa, General Nanbu Moriyuki's camp was visited by two red-crowned cranes that fluttered around the flags several times. This was seen as an auspicious sign from heaven, and they achieved a great victory that day. As a result, the crane was adopted as the family's crest, evolving from a diamond-shaped crane to a circular crane, and eventually to the 'Southern Crane' or 'Nanbu Crane' design.