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Symbol · symbol_warding_off_evil

Warding off Evil

An APOTROPAIC meaning: the motif is worn to repel evil spirits. Attested for the chrysanthemum as a tattoo specifically, not merely as an image.
Thin
Medium confidenceresearched

1 attested1 source · T2

Registry entry only

The corpus has no enrichment row for this concept (symbols), so it carries its label, description, aliases and provenance and nothing further. No visual traits or cautions are recorded — not because they failed to load, but because that data does not exist in the corpus.

Provenance

1 resolved

  • Chrysanthemum in Japanese tattoos (opens in a new tab)

    Tier 2

    Eddy Toshi Wertheim, Tattoo Life

    Tattoo magazine feature. Verbatim: "Chrysanthemums – iconic flowers of Japan – often appear within the imagery of traditional tattoo designs." On composition: "They can serve as a background, frame or as the focus of the artwork". On meaning: a legend in which "he chose the flower because it symbolised beauty"; that "it also served as an herbal remedy among the aristocracy as it was believed to improve longevity"; and the tattoo-specific claim "As a tattoo, chrysanthemums have historically been used as a talisman to ward off evil spirits." LIVING-INSTITUTION CAUTION: the page records that the Imperial Family "immediately adopted the design as their crest and use it to this day" - the chrysanthemum crest is a current state and dynastic emblem, not only a historical one, which is why this motif carries cultural_review_required.

    industry source · published 2021-10-21 · retrieved 2026-08-29

Related concepts

1 link

Can symbolize · 1

  • ← incomingChrysanthemumMotifThin
    strength 0.75researched

    TATTOO-SPECIFIC, which is why it is the strongest edge on this motif: "As a tattoo, chrysanthemums have historically been used as a talisman to ward off evil spirits." The source attaches this to the tattoo, not to the flower in general.