Ito wa Tsuta Case-Mate iPhone Case Playing Cards

The Tsuta (ivy) was very popular among people from the Shogun to women in the pleasure quarters during the Edo period. The 8th Shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa, was worried that his family line would be discontinued, so he created the Gosankyō (a family of three branches), and used the Tsuta crest as an alternative to the Tokugawa family crest, the Aoi crest. This must have been because he wished for the prosperity of his descendants, taking advantage of the ivy's strong vitality (from 'Kamon Shireba Shiruhodo' by Danwa, Motoji). It is said that geishas and courtesans preferred to use this crest not only because of its elegant shape, but also because the ivy plant wraps around other objects and thrives, symbolizing their attachment to their familiar customers (from 'Nihon Monshogaku').