What does 亜字形図象 mean?


In particular I was not able to find 図象 in any dictionary; I wonder if it is
perhaps a typo and the author meant 図像.

In the case that the author meant 図像, would it then simply mean "icon made up
of characters"? So that 亜字形図像 could be roughly translated as "the 亜
(character-based) icon"?

The context is the following:

> 中国古代の有力氏族には、亜の職（亜職）についている人がおり、その人は「亞」の形の中にその氏族名を記したものを紋章のように使用していた。これを
> **亜字形図象** という。

Source: 白川静；常用字解（第二版）、p３




In standard usage, 象 and 像 are distinct kanji with different meanings. In
particular, they are rarely confused in the following contexts:

  * **象** (ぞう; elephant): 象牙 (ivory)
  * **像** (ぞう; statue): 銅像 (bronze statue)

However, these kanji are also often associated with "image":

  * **象** (しょう; image): 現象 (phenomenon), 印象 (impression), 抽象 (abstraction), 具象 (embodiment)
  * **像** (ぞう; image): 現像 (development of film), 映像 (movie)

In such cases, 象 and 像 were not strictly distinguished in the past. For
example, if you search the [青空文庫全文検索](https://myokoym.net/aozorasearch/), you
will find that older authors sometimes used 実象, 映象, 群象, etc., which would be
considered mere typos in modern standard usage but were accepted variants at
the time. In your specific case, it's safe to consider 図象 as a synonym for 図像,
so it's "亜-shaped icon".

(I doubt this is a "typo". Although 常用字解 seems to be a relatively recent book,
I suppose the author intentionally chose 図象 based on some historical or
academic background. Old notations tend to be preserved in the context of
historical researches.)

Please also read dROOOze's answere here: [How does ayakashi, あやかし = 妖 or
罔像?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/57289/5010)




In standard usage, 象 and 像 are distinct kanji with different meanings. In
particular, they are rarely confused in the following contexts:

  * **象** (ぞう; elephant): 象牙 (ivory)
  * **像** (ぞう; statue): 銅像 (bronze statue)

However, these kanji are also often associated with "image":

  * **象** (しょう; image): 現象 (phenomenon), 印象 (impression), 抽象 (abstraction), 具象 (embodiment)
  * **像** (ぞう; image): 現像 (development of film), 映像 (movie)

In such cases, 象 and 像 were not strictly distinguished in the past. For
example, if you search the [青空文庫全文検索](https://myokoym.net/aozorasearch/), you
will find that older authors sometimes used 実象, 映象, 群象, etc., which would be
considered mere typos in modern standard usage but were accepted variants at
the time. In your specific case, it's safe to consider 図象 as a synonym for 図像,
so it's "亜-shaped icon".

(I doubt this is a "typo". Although 常用字解 seems to be a relatively recent book,
I suppose the author intentionally chose 図象 based on some historical or
academic background. Old notations tend to be preserved in the context of
historical researches.)

Please also read dROOOze's answere here: [How does ayakashi, あやかし = 妖 or
罔像?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/57289/5010)

