Not something you can use for research, but it youare looking for inspiration, this is a book for you. I started putting yellow post-its on thedesigns I wanted to use (quilting, cross-stitch, stained glass), but I soon gave up when I realizedthat I was marking almost every page.
This is one of those rare design books that is well worththe money.
While the Matsuya catalogdoes provide a cyclopedic view of late nineteenth century notions of what kamon should look like, itdoes not provide reliable information for those interested in premodern Japan. This is a problemshared with most books about kamon whether in English or Japanese. However, there are a few booksavailable in East Asian libraries and some even currently in print in Japan which do link kamon toclans, families, regions, historical periods, and even specific individuals. If your interest inkamon is of a historical nature, I recommend that you seek these out. If, however, your interest isprimarily artistic, this is a fine book with well rendered depictions of a vast aray of thesedesigns.