Monsho Joue, the art of overglaze crest painting, traces its origins to the Heian period. Revived in 1944 by Ogawa Suteju, who trained in Kyoto, this craft involves two highly skilled stages: creating the pure white crest field on dyed fabric using a stencil, and then meticulously painting the crest with a compass, ruler, and fine overglaze brush. The process demands years of training to master. Today, Monsho Joue is primarily used to adorn black kimonos, such as mourning garments, with beautifully precise crests.