I've always wondered about the meaning of these hiragana symbols:

1. This め character is in the Spirited Away cover next to what looks like a picture of an eye, and I always wondered why it was there. I know め is 目 (eye) but I don't know why it's on the lantern and sign :3

2. I also saw the め character on 祭り outfits in this ゴエモン game. They appear to be doing the 盆踊り in this picture.

3. Lastly, I saw the み character on the outside of a building.

質問を翻訳

In the Edo period, most ordinary people could not read Chinese characters, so Hiragana were used for signs or logos.

Pict 3 is a house of a merchant, and the shop's name is まるみ (まる = a circle + み = perhaps the first letter of the owner's surname).

People in Pict 2 are firefighters belonging to め組 (= Group め). Containing fires was crucial to protect Edo, where houses were wooden.
They are now boosting the morale of the team in a festival.

Firefighters at that time were grouped into い組, ろ組, etc., but め組 was people's favorite, because め組 sounds as 恵 (= luck).

In Pict 1, she is selling めめ, a mysterious item. No one knows what it is, and you will find many people in the net discussing the meaning.