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Greetings,
Here is the information we found on your name "Akechi Nobumaru" and mon, "Mitsu kama."
The elements of your name were used in period. However, names with the suffix "-maru" were used primarily by children. Further, adult middle-class Japanese used three names; in addition to a clan name and use name they used a "nanori" which was not widely used.
Nanori usually had two elements, and adjective and a noun. They usually made a moral reference or expressed a positive wish, although the references were sometimes oblique. If you would like us to look for nanori which relate to a specific concept or virtue, you could make some suggestions and we could research names that would be appropriate.
We didn't find any examples of kama in existing mon, but Japanese families did use a variety of agricultural implements in their mon and we feel that it would be a reasonable charge. The design you're describing is a depiction of three kamas in a ring with their handles pointing outward, and is a plausible historical mon. Mon weren't usually displayed in specific colors, so a variety of color combinations would be possible. We have never seen a mon displayed in blue and black, so you may want to consider a color combination that provides better contrast.
Solveig Throndarsdottir researched your name.
We hope this has been helpful.
In Service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel
Greetings,
Here's the information we have on Japanese naming practices, particularly on designing an appropriate nanori.
Nope. A nanori is typically the third element in a name. Examples.
Souga Juurou Sukenari
Souga Kojirou Koreshige
Souga is a family name. Juurou and Kojirou are both tsuushou (common use names). Sukenari and Soreshige are both nanori (formal given names). The nanori is what Herbert Plutschow (1) calls the "taboo name" and which other writers have erroneously called "secret names". Herbert Plutschow has pointed out that these names were not particularly secret. The situation with them was much more akin to being a "real name". Many cultures have held that the "true name" for things had special power. For example, Jews pretty much never utter the name of G-d.
Nicknames (such as "kishokan," the example you cited) are not related to nanori at all.
Nanori (and tsuushou) were commonly given at genfukunoshiki when the individual became an adult. There aren't too many examples of names which imply military prowess. However, we can suggest the following elements. In the examples below, -<element> indicates the second element in the name, which carries the main meaning. <element>- indicates the first element in the name, which modifies the second.
The elements which come closest to the meaning you want are:
-hira (Protext/Defend -- used in the word for military groups) <rare>
These elements are not found in conjuction with each other, so you will need to select another element. Concepts commonly referenced in nanori include "Correct", "Bright", "Fortunate", "Enduring", "Substantial", "Loyal", "Noble", etc.
You could consider the following elements
Since the second element is the primary one, "Yasutada" would mean "Confidently Faithful" which "Tadayasu" would mean "Faithfully Confident."
Regarding the colors of your mon: in general, the Japanese followed the same rules of contrast used in Western armory: yellow and white are in one group, red, black, and blue are in another. Two colors from the same group shouldn't be placed on top of each other.
Finally, we'd like to emphasize that "Nobumaru" is a very unlikely name for an adult, except in very early periods in Japanese history (when it would take the form "Nobumaro" in any case). We would recommend choosing a different use-name.
Solveig Throndarsdottir researched this letter.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel