For adopting the gotokumon as a family crest, the pun for the Confucian gotoku ('humanity,' 'justice,' 'courtesy,' 'wisdom,' and 'faith') was intended, as well as for the other set of five Confucian virtues, 'calmness,' 'sincerity,' 'respect,' 'modesty,' and 'selflessness.'
使用については、儒教の「仁・義・礼・智・信」の五徳にかけたともされ、また「温・良・恭・倹・譲」にも通じるという。