# Nail puller

釘抜 kuginuki

![Nail puller](https://www.furoshiki.com/swatches/kuginuki.svg)

The square washer once used to lever out nails. 'Pulling nails' (kugi o nuku) sounds like 'pulling out suffering' (ku o nuku) and 'taking nine castles', so samurai prized it as a lucky crest.

Samurai crest (kamon) and lucky pattern

Drawn from the square washer (zagane) set under a nail so it could be levered out. The puns 'pull out suffering' and 'take nine castles' made it popular with warriors as a crest and a repeat pattern.

Kuginuki Jizō (Shakuzō-ji, Kyoto) is visited by people hoping to be freed from pain, the same 'pull out suffering' wish.

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Source: https://www.furoshiki.com/patterns/kuginuki/