History UsefulNotes / NonNaziSwastika

Contrast NoSwastikas

The swastika is an ancient sun symbol, used in many cultures throughout history. If you see a swastika in a work - any work - made in the 1920s or earlier, the symbol has nothing to do with ThoseWackyNazis.

* Subverted in ''Film/OneNightWithTheKing'', an adaption of the Literature/BookOfEsther. The villain Haman wears the good luck swastika millennia before the Nazis, yet also happens to be planning to exterminate the Jews.

* Subverted in ''Film/OneNightWithTheKing''. The villain Haman wears the good luck swastika millennia before the Nazis, yet also happens to be planning to exterminate the Jews.

It's usually golden rather than black, and usually inverted compared to the swastika of the Nazis. Usually, but far from always, there are lots of variants.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai incorporates a Manji into the sword's blade-catcher. Ichigo also has sun symbolism. He's described by the author as the "Black Sun" (ie, the eclipsed sun).

The swastika is an ancient geometric symbol, used in many cultures throughout history. If you see a swastika in a work - any work - made in the 1920s or earlier, the symbol has nothing to do with ThoseWackyNazis. Even contemporary works from cultures where the swastiska has a different traditional meaning may use it with no reference to fascism.

While swastika-like symbols have been used since at least the Neolithic (often associated in some way with the sun disc), the best known examples are in South Asia, where the swastika as a religious symbol of divine energy dates back to the Vedic origins of Hinduism (which is where Nazism misappropriated it from). Jainism uses swastikas to invoke the blessings of the gods in religious ceremonies and architecture. Buddhism adopted the swastika as a sign of eternity and took it to East Asia, where it also became the ideographic character for "10,000". Swastikas were also used independently by ancient Armenians as symbols of light, by several different Native American cultures with a variety of meanings (the four directions, healing, creation), by African cultures as a geometric design without religious symbolism, by the ancient Greeks as a symbol of the four directions, by the ancient Baltics as a symbol of the thunder god, and by several new religious movements for a variety of religious meanings.

It's worth noting that these swastikas are much more visually diverse than Nazi imagery. They usually (but not always) are rotated 45 degrees and inverted in "spin" direction compared to Nazi swastikas and may appear in colors other than black (often gold or red). Hindu swastikas often include dots between each arm.

* Manji of ''BladeOfTheImmortal'' has the swastika symbol on the back of his clothes as a reference to immortality. In fact, manji is the Japanese name for the swastika symbol (though the symbol itself is usually reversed to point counterclockwise). In the original version, it's drawn in the "Nazi direction", but in English translation was flipped to the "Buddhist direction".
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai transforms the guard of his sword into a manji. This is something of a visual pun, since the manji is also the first kanji in "bankai"--卍解. It literally means "infinite/final release".

** Pre-Columbian America: The swastika has been found associated with cultures throughout North and South America, including the First Nations of Canada, the Navajo and Hopi of the southwestern United States, the Mississippian culture of the east and southeast US, and the Kuna people of Panama. Some of these are still in use today, though efforts are made to visually distinguish them from the Nazi symbol.

The swastika is an ancient sun symbol, used in many cultures throughout history. If you see a swastika in a work - any work - made in the 1920s or earlier, the symbol has nothing to do with ThoseWackyNazis.

It's usually golden rather than black, and usually inverted compared to the swastika of the Nazis. Usually, but far from always, there are lots of variants.

* Manji of ''BladeOfTheImmortal'' has the swastika symbol on the back of his clothes as a reference to immortality. In fact, manji is the Japanese name for the swastika symbol (though the symbol itself is reversed to point counterclockwise). In the original version, it's drawn in the "Nazi direction", but in English translation was flipped to the "Buddhist direction".
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai incorporates a Manji into the sword's blade-catcher. Ichigo also has sun symbolism. He's described by the author as the "Black Sun" (ie, the eclipsed sun).

** Pre-Columbian America: The swastika has been found associated with cultures throughout North and South America, including the First Nations of Canada, the Navajo and Hopi of the southwestern United States, the Mississippian culture of the east and southeast US, and the Kuna people of Panama. Some of these, are still in use today, though efforts are made to distance them from the Nazis.

** Armenia: The swastika was prominent in medieval architecture, such as churches and fortresses. It was called an ''arevkhatch'' (sun cross).

* The Raelians hold an annual "take back the swastika" day to try to rehabilitate the public's perception of the swastika.

* Manji of ''BladeOfTheImmortal'' has the swastika symbol on the back of his clothes as a reference to immortality. In fact, manji is the Japanese name for the swastika symbol. In the original version, it's drawn in the "Nazi direction", but in English translation was flipped to the "Buddhist direction".
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai incorporates swastika shapes, usually as the guard of his sword. Ichigo also has sun symbolism. He's described by the author as the "Black Sun" (ie, the eclipsed sun).

* In ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'', Langdon is making a conference. He shows part of an image of a swastika, everyone thinks about nazis, then Langdon shows the complete image, with a clearly buddhist context.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai incorporates swastika shapes, usually as the guard of his sword.

* Subverted in ''Film/OneNightWithTheKing''. The villain Haman wears the good luck swastika centuries before the Nazis, yet also happens to be planning to exterminate the Jews.

* In ''TheGreatGatsby'', the Jewish gangster Meyer Wolfsheim operates out of the "Swastika Club" (presumably, like many older buildings, it has that design on it). There is some argument though that this wasn't an innocent usage, as Wolfsheim is something of an anti-Semitic caricature, and the Nazi movement had already adopted it as their symbol by the time the novel was written, and Fitzgerald was fairly knowledgeable of white supremacist movements.

** Armenia: The swastika was prominent in medieval architecture, such as churches and fortresses.

* ''YuYuHakusho'' had a minor villain with a swastika tattooed on his forehead. This was removed in the English dub.

* In ''Anime/{{Bleach}}'', Ichigo's bankai incorporates swastika shapes, usually as the guard of his sword.
* In ''Anime/OnePiece'', a swastika is incorporated in the crest of the Whitebeard pirates.

* Both Ran and Yukari Yakumo from ''[[{{Touhou}} Perfect Cherry Blossom]]'' use a manji-themed spellcard in their battles with you. Ran's version is ''Shikigami's Shot "Ultimate Buddhist"'' and Yukari's is ''Evil Spirits "Butterfly in the Zen Temple."''

* In ''TheDaVinciCode'', Langdon is making a conference. He shows part of an image of a swastika, everyone thinks about nazis, then Langdon shows the complete image, with a clearly buddhist context.

* One of the ''{{Pokemon}}'' trading card game cards, the Koga's Ninja Trick card, originally had the symbol on it in mirror image until people complained and it was altered.

* Both Ran and Yukari Yakumo from ''[[{{Touhou}} Perfect Cherry Blossom]]'' use a manji-themed spellcard in their battles with you. Ran's version is Shikigami's Shot "Ultimate Buddhist" and Yukari's is Evil Spirits "Butterfly in the Zen Temple."
* This is set up purposefully in ''Epic Battle Fantasy 2''. The Big Bad Lance is portrayed as a neo-Nazi intent on destroying the world to rebuild it. However, if one looks carefully at his uniform, his swastika is facing the other direction from the Nazi swastika to form the Buddhist symbol for peace, an appropriate reflection of his ultimate motives.
* The original ''TheLegendOfZelda'' had a dungeon shaped like a swastika, described as "manji" in the manual. Definitely a case of ValuesDissonance.

The Swastika is an ancient Sun symbol, used in many cultures throughout history. If you see a Swastika in a work - any work - made in the 1920:es or earlier, the symbol has nothing to do with racism or nationalism or hatred or anything else associated with ThoseWackyNazis.

It's usually golden rather than black, and usually inverted compared to the swastika of the Nazis. Usually, but far from always - there's lots of variants.

Polar opposite of ANaziByAnyOtherName: ''this'' trope one is about cases where the most famous symbol of Nazism actually doesn't have anything to do with Nazism.

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* YuYuHakusho had a minor villain with a swastika tattooed on his forehead. This was removed in the English dub.

* Manji of BladeOfTheImmortal has the swastika symbol on the back of his clothes as a reference to immortality. In fact, manji is the Japanese name for the swastika symbol. In the original version, it's drawn in the "Nazi direction", but in English translation was flipped to the "Buddhist direction".
* In Bleach, Ichigo's bankai incorporates swastika shapes, usually as the guard of his sword.
* In One Piece a swastika is incorporated in the crest of the Whitebeard pirates
* Both Ran and Yukari Yakumo from [[{{Touhou}} Perfect Cherry Blossom]] use a manji-themed spellcard in their battles with you. Ran's version is ''Shikigami's Shot "Ultimate Buddhist"'' and Yukari's is ''Evil Spirits "Butterfly in the Zen Temple."''

* In SinCity, the Asian assassin Miho throws a large shuriken in the shape of a manji.

* In TheDaVinciCode, Langdon is making a conference. He shows part of an image of a swastika, everyone thinks about nazis, then Langdon shows the complete image, with a clearly buddhist context.
* In KalHoNaaHo, Naina and Jennifer paint a swastika in the window of their restaurant - in New York - as part of its revamping. No one comments on this, and the new concept is a huge success.

* One autobiography of the last Tzar mentions The Empress being very fond of the Swastika.
* In TheGreatGatsby, the Jewish gangster Meyer Wolfsheim operates out of the "Swastika Club" (presumably, like many older buildings, it has that design on it). There is some argument though that this wasn't an innocent usage, as Wolfsheim is something of an anti-Semitic caricature, and the Nazi movement had already adopted it as their symbol by the time the novel was written, and Fitzgerald was fairly knowledgeable of white supremacist movements.

* KolchakTheNightStalker: in the Rakshasa episode, Kolchak sought wisdom from an emigrant from India, who had swastikas. The man explained that in his culture they were holy symbols.

* One of the {{Pokemon}} trading card game cards, the Koga's Ninja Trick card, originally had the symbol on it in mirror image until people complained and it was altered.

* Both Ran and Yukari Yakumo from [[{{Touhou}} Perfect Cherry Blossom]] use a manji-themed spellcard in their battles with you. Ran's version is Shikigami's Shot "Ultimate Buddhist" and Yukari's is Evil Spirits "Butterfly in the Zen Temple."
* This is set up purposefully in Epic Battle Fantasy 2. The Big Bad Lance is portrayed as a neo-Nazi intent on destroying the world to rebuild it. However, if one looks carefully at his uniform, his swastika is facing the other direction from the Nazi swastika to form the Buddhist symbol for peace, an appropriate reflection of his ultimate motives.

** Pre-Columbian America: The swastika has been found associated with cultures throughout North and South America, including the First Nations of Canada, the Navajo and Hopi of the southwestern US, the Mississippian culture of the east and southeast US, and the Kuna people of Panama. Some of these, are still in use today, though efforts are made to distance them from the Nazis.

** Baltics: Pre-Christian. The two versions were called the fire cross and the thunder cross, and represented the Thunder God Perkons and the sun.

* In several parts of Asia such as Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, the manji is commonly seen on buddhist temples and service centers.
* The Raelians hold an annual "take back the swastika" day to try to rehabilitate the public's perception of the swastika.