日本伝統の幾何学模様と形状の図鑑 / Traditional Japanese geometric patterns and shapes: an illustrated reference
10.10.2018 § Leave a comment
This is the post I wish I’d had when I started1 discovering Japanese traditional geometric patterns and shapes: a broad2 body of images named in both English and Japanese3, internally consistent by both image format4 and naming methodology5, and organized by geometry6. Please use this resource to teach yourself how to learn to read and compose7 in Japanese geometric pattern, and feel free to reach out to me with any questions or criticisms.
Here is a link to the database I created to prepare this post, if you would like to explore that way. You can even export the whole thing if you like.
https://airtable.com/embed/shrqIGbYToEHjRLTR?backgroundColor=gray&viewControls=on
三角か六角対称性文様
pattern with triangular or hexagonal symmetry
麻
hemp
hemp leaf
broken hemp leaf
twisted hemp leaf
hemp leaf of interlocked rings
麻の葉兎 / hemp leaf loops / あさのはうさぎ / asa no ha usagi
pine bark hemp leaf
cherry blossom tortoise shell
桜 / cherry blossom / さくら / sakura
split cherry blossom
bellflower hemp leaf
wickerwork hemp leaf
flying hemp leaf
八重裏花亀甲 / layered underside of a floral tortoise shell / やえうらはなきっこう / yae ura hana kikkō
asagao
亀甲
tortoise shell
tortoise shell
bale tortoise shell
hail tortoise shell
三重亀甲 / triple tortoise shell / みえきっこう / mie kikkō
a Hokusai pattern*
rope bamboo screen
ice crack hemp leaf
layered tortoise shell
tortoise shell steps
Arisugawa brocade
a Hokusai pattern*
bamboo grass gentian stitch
star & three diamonds
hexagonal interlocked rings
毘沙門
Vaiśravaṇa
Vaiśravaṇa
毘沙門亀甲 / Vaiśravaṇa tortoise shell / びしゃもんきっこう / bishamon kikkō
braided tortoise shell
Vaiśravaṇa sword
毘沙門剣亀甲 / Vaiśravaṇa sword tortoise shell / びしゃもんけんきっこう / bishamon ken kikkō
rounded Vaiśravaṇa
split woven bamboo
dragon claw tortoise shell
four broken rings
hexagonal blocks
籠目
woven bamboo
woven bamboo
六つ目編み / hexagonal mesh / むつめあみ / mutsu me ami
gentian
重ね竜胆 / layered gentian / かさねりんどう / kasane rindō
layered axe handle
I would have called this ‘網目重ね’ myself.
a Hokusai pattern*
torn woven bamboo
knotted tortoise shell
layered knotted tortoise shell
tea ceremony basket hemp leaf
鱗
scales
scales
鋸歯 / sawtooth / きょし / kyoshi
scales of authoritative courtesan
子持ち鱗 / pregant scales / こもちうろこ / komochi uroko
sesame
六つ手の万字
six-handed swastika
linked plovers
six-handed Vaiśravaṇa tortoise shell
網代麻の葉 / wickerwork hemp leaf / あじろあさのは / ajiro asa no ha
six-handed swastika
麻の葉崩し / broken hemp leaf / あさのはくずし / asa no ha kuzushi
捻れ麻の葉 / twisted hemp leaf / ねじれあさのは / nejire asa no ha
箱
boxes
variation on scales
boxes
線対称文様
pattern with linear symmetry
矢羽根
arrow feathers
arrow feathers
矢絣 / arrow kasuri / やがすり / ya gasuri
矢羽根縞 / arrow feather stripes / やばねしま / yabane shima
鏃 / arrowhead / やじり / yajiri
opposing tortoise shell
綴り亀甲 / spelling tortoise shell / つづりきっこう / tuzuri kikkō
back and forth
string of one thousand origami crows
hawk feathers
山道
mountain path
linked steps
mountain path
山路 / mountain path / やまじ / yama ji
雁木 / zig-zag / がんぎ / gangi
flat mountain path
opposing tortoise shell with inserted flower
互い違い縞
alternating stripes
horsetail stripes
bamboo stripes
well kasuri
Uji river
linked Japanese character for “letter”
hanging hollyhock
necklace
輪宝 / ring treasure / りんぽう / rimpō
Kanze water
漂い縞
drifting stripes
fish hook lightning bolt
wisteria seed screw
arabesque paper sliding door construction
唐様障子 / arabesque paper sliding door / からようしょうじ / karayō shōji
flowing crosses
a Hokusai pattern*
繋ぎ縞
linked stripes
linked measuring containers
abacus stripe
算盤 / abacus / そろばん / soroban
算盤玉 / abacus bead / そろばんだま / soroban dama
linked pincers
賽の目繋ぎ / linked pips / さいのめつなぎ / sai no me tsunagi
Yoshiwara
linked castle keeps
輪違繋ぎ / linked interlocked rings / わちがいつなぎ / wa chigai tsunagi
輪繋ぎ / linked rings / わつなぎ / wa tsunagi
kettle handle stripe
鐶繋ぎ / linked kettle handles / かんつなぎ / kan tsunagi
芝翫縞 / Shikan stripe / しかんじま / shikan jima
linked kettle handles
roof tile gap
wisteria seed
普通縞
plain stripes
reins
disorderly striped fabric
蹌踉縞 / stumbling stripes / よろけじま / yoroke jima
直線
straight stripes
pregnant stripes
親子縞 / parent & child stripes / おやこしま / oyako shima
stripes that are pregnant on both sides
two vertical stripes
親子縞 / parent & child stripes / おやこしま / oyako shima
three vertical stripes
三筋竪 / three vertical stripes / みすじだて / mi suji date
random stripes
one-direction waterfall stripes
bonito stripes / 鰹縞 / かつおじま / katsuo jima is a variant involving a gradient, but that was not in the scope of this project.
waterfall stripes
立涌
rising water
rising water
立湧 / rising water / たてわく / tatewaku
立涌 / rising water / たちわき / tachiwaki
mat
rising water Kanze water
変わり檜垣
transfigured cypress fence
transfigured cypress fence
小波 / little wave / さざなみ / saza nami
furrowed stripes
蹌踉縞 / stumbling stripes / よろけじま / yoroke jima
流水 / flowing water / りゅうすい / ryū sui
rope impression stripes
a Hokusai pattern*
oozing pattern down the walls of a pot
Tatsuta river
流水 / flowing water / りゅうすい / ryū sui
畝ねり縞
furrowed stripes
linked fans
hijiki stripes
蹌踉縞 / stumbling stripes / よろけじま / yoroke jima
波縞 / wavy stripes / なみしま / nami shima
rain stripes
French stripes
霞
mist
Japanese character for “we” mist
ヱ雲 / Japanese character for “we” cloud / えぐも / e gumo
エ霞 / Japanese character for “e” mist / えがすみ / e gasumi
エ雲 / Japanese character for “e” cloud / えくも / e kumo
decaying tree
linked mist
網目
mesh
Abhijñā net
mesh
disorderly rising water
a Hokusai pattern*
a Hokusai pattern*
四角対称性文様
pattern with quadrilateral symmetry
千鳥
plover
plover swastika
千鳥繋ぎ / linked plovers / ちどりつなぎ / chidori tsunagi
linked plovers
鳥襷
bird tasuki
bird tasuki
丸繋ぎ / linked circles / まるつなぎ / maru tsunagi
Make sure to tilt your head 45 degrees to see the relationship to others in this category.
double bird tasuki
丸繋ぎ / linked circles / まるつなぎ / maru tsunagi
linked half-circles
丸繋ぎ / linked circles / まるつなぎ / maru tsunagi
swastika kite
外接
circumscription
linked counterweights
流万字 / flowing swastikas / りゅうまんじ / ryū manji
流万字 / flowing swastikas / ながれまんじ / nagare manji
blue sea wave
true gold blue sea wave
pampas grass
The name refers to an autumn typhon, but the image depicts pampas grass being blown by one.
chrysanthemum blue sea wave
pine wave
shark
乱れ鮫 / disorderly shark / みだれざめ / midare zame
diamond blue sea wave
小波 / little wave / さざなみ / saza nami
sake bottle wickerwork
徳利桧垣 / sake bottle cypress fence / とっくりひがき / tokkuri higaki
linked counterweights and rings
青海崩し / broken blue sea / あおみくずし / aomi kuzushi
linked fans
七宝
seven treasures
seven treasures
Came to be read as しっぽう which sounds like 四宝, instead of しちぽう which is 七宝, because it has four sides; the “seven” referred to the count of different treasures it represented, including gold, silver, and others.
dotted seven treasures
squared-off seven treasures
linked triple diamond
grid stitch
exotic seven treasures
silk cross
pear
Goryeo edging
蜀江
Shu river
coin
transfigured flower cross
layered tortoise shell
transfigured squared-off seven treasures
floral cross
transfigured cross flower
Shu river
蜀甲 / Shu shell / しょっこう / shokkō
Shu river water
変わり雷 / transfigured lightning / かわりかみなり / kawari kaminari
Shu river linked swastika
角繋ぎ
linked squares
linked squares
Rokuyata lattice
詰三枡 / packed three measuring containers / つめみます / tsume mi masu
braided diamond
four braided diamonds
layered measuring container
角繋ぎ / linked squares / かくつなぎ / kaku tsunagi
legendary two-headed bird well girder
layered linked measuring container
I do not understand why ‘layered’ makes this pattern less dense than it looks without.
linked measuring containers
井
well
diamond Japanese character for “field”
linked diamond well girder
菱井筒繋ぎ / linked diamond well curb / ひしいづつつなぎ / hishi izutsu tsunagi
well curb split diamond
linked split diamond
格子
lattice
net of diamonds
一重菱 / single diamond / ひとえびし / hitoe bishi
double diamond
triple diamond
three-five-six stripes
Goryeo lattice
高麗屋格子 / Goryeo lattice / こうらいやごうし / kōrai ya gōshi
miso strainer lattice
three measuring container lattice
pregnant lattice
rain dragon striped fabric
網代
wickerwork
one broken
triple lattice
wickerwork split diamond
檜垣割菱 / cypress fence split diamond / ひがきわりびし / higaki wari bishi
紗綾形崩し / broken gossamer figure / さやがたくずし / sayagata kuzushi
transfigured wickerwork
broken counting rods
〜崩し縞 / a number of broken stripes / 〜くずしじま / no ji kuzushi jima
網代組 / braided wickerwork / あじろぐみ / ajiro gumi
〜の字崩し / a number of broken characters / 〜のじくずし / no ji kuzushi
石畳 / cobblestone / いしだたみ / ishi datami
diamond swastika
well girder lattice
通し
dotted
dotted
dotted squares
mosquito
十字 / cross / じゅうじ / jūji
flat well cross
well girder kasuri
grid of dots at a 45 degree angle
It’s at 45 degrees, like a person bowing (hence the literal translation “behavior”).
fawn
cat paw
bean
水玉 / water droplet / みずたま / mizu tama
abacus
四角タイル
square tiling
nested diamond
triple tasuki
Narihira diamond
Goryeo edging small version
rice lattice
striped fabric of Taishi
linked Mt. Fuji
pine diamond
若松菱 / young pine diamond / わかまつびし / waka matsu bishi
lightning lattice
石畳
cobblestone
cobblestone
市松 / checkers / いちまつ / ichi matsu
dotted checkers
three measuring containers
枡繋ぎ / linked measuring containers / ますつなぎ / masu tsunagi
linked eel
Kikugorō lattice
transfigured checkers
ピクセル化された
pixellated
well frame
well
persimmon flower
linked square cross
回転の石畳
cobblestone with rotation
pips
childlike
squared-off hemp
八つ手麻の葉 / eight-handed hemp leaf / やつてあさのは / yatsu te asa no ha
eight-handed hemp leaf
chopped interlocked measuring container parquet
lightning
雷繋ぎ / linked lightning / かみなりつなぎ / kaminari tsunagi
万字
swastika
key fret
万字繋ぎ / linked swastikas / まんじつなぎ / manji tsunagi
綸子 / figured satin / りんず / rinzu
雷繋ぎ / linked lightning / かみなりつなぎ / kaminari tsunagi
紗綾 / gossamer figure / さあや / saaya
While known in English as ‘key fret’, that refers to a number of non-Japanese patterns as well. This pattern is extremely common and will turn up in the searches for a number of similar names. Also there is a pattern 「秋名薔薇柄」 which is the same, just with a coloration accent.
linked crosses
万字繋ぎ / linked swastikas / まんじつなぎ / manji tsunagi
linked swastikas forming Japanese character for “ki”
万字繋ぎ / linked swastikas / まんじつなぎ / manji tsunagi
well girder swastika
linked Japanese character for “worker”
工字崩し / broken Japanese character for “worker” / こうじくずし / kō ji kuzushi
transfigured lightning
雷 / lightning / かみなり / kaminari
whirlpool swastika
one-direction key fret
linked flat braided swastikas
broken diamond swastika
a Hokusai pattern*
松皮
pine bark
pine bark
松皮菱 / pine bark diamond / まつかわびし / matsukawa bishi
松川 / pine river / まつかわ / matsu kawa
a Hokusai pattern*
layered pine bark diamond
続き山 / successive mountains / つづきやま / tsuzuki yama
散乱文様
scatter pattern
hail
大小霰 / big and small hail / だいしょうあられ / dai shō arare
badger chrysanthemum
Supposed to look like a badger’s coat. But still represents chrystanthemum.
arabesque grass
shark
乱れ鮫 / disorderly shark / みだれざめ / midare zame
dewy lawn
whirlpool
flowing water
周期的な形状
cyclical shape
銭
coin
pincer
目結 / meyui / めゆい / meyui
目 / eye / め / me
目菱 / eye diamond / めびし / me bishi
eye diamond
square bullseye
coin
snake eye
陰角
square outline
stretched square
square with corners cut
折敷 / lacquered wooden tray / おしき / oshiki
square with corners indented
square with inner corners cut
square with inner corners idented
square with corners indented with vines
square with identations
square with folded indentations
square with warped indentations
gathered square
陰丸
circular outline
moon ring
wheel of Genji
zig-zag ring
The ‘goose tree’ part seems to refer to the zig-zag shape of flocking geese; I am unable to discern what ‘tree’ has to do with it. It also refers to a traditional style of dock consisting of stairs down into the water.
dango
suhama ring
雑の同心円状
miscellaneous concentric
enso
sea fingers
抜き
removal
inverse Navagraha
kickball holder
plum ring
hazy plum ring stencil
heaven and earth
日
sun
sun rays
rising sun
rising sun rays
九曜
Navagraha
Navagraha
split Navagraha
Navagraha across three fans
knotted Navagraha
yin yang seven planets
Hyuga kettle trivet
three linked stars
three mirrors
dotted plum pot
基本的な共通の花
basic common flowers
plum
梅花 / plum flower / ばいか / baika
cherry blossom
chrysanthemum
quince
hollyhock
arabesque flower
bellflower
基本的で珍しい花
basic uncommon flowers
woodsorrel
floating weeds
四つ葉片喰 / four leaf woodsorrel / よつばかたばみ / yotsuba katabami
waterclover
persimmon flower
melon flower
柿の花 / persimmon flower / かきのはな / kaki no hana
nadeshiko
Yanagisawa diamond leaf
calabash flower
shepherd’s purse
six leaves
六葉懸魚 / six leaf gable pendant / ろくようげぎょ / roku yō gegyo
gardenia
山梔子 / mountain gardenia / さんしし / sanshishi
花の変形
flower variation
Korin clematis
Korin woodsorrel
Korin plum pot
plum backside
plum pot
separated arabesque flower
arabesque pear
arabesque pear flower
transfigured arabesque pear flower
cherry blossom well cherry blossom
雪
snow
snow ring
first snow
spring snow
icicle snow
麻
hemp
hemp leaf
hemp leaf bellflower
hemp leaf wheel
三つ
three-way
three diamonds
seven united scales
七つ繋ぎ鱗 / seven linked scales / ななつつなぎうろこ / nanatsu tsunagi uroko
three mountains
三つ寄せ山 / three gathered mountains / みつよせやま / mitsu yose yama
three sand mounds
hexagon of three-storied diamonds
頭合せ三つ三階菱 / three three-storied diamonds with tops together / かしらあわせみつさんかいびし / kashira awase mitsu sankai bishi
三つ三階菱 / three three-storied diamonds / みつさんかいびし / mitsu sankai bishi
three gathered counterweights
three braided counterweights
three Japanese characters for “big”
kettle stand
Akagaki scale
七宝
seven treasures
seven treasures
甲地割 / armor cracks / こうじわり / kōji wari
Ōoka seven treasures
雑の遠心的
miscellaneous centrifugal
skein four-eyes
windmill
murago dyeing style
interlocked ring quince
十字
cross
thread spool
反り角 / warped square / そりかく / sori kaku
interlocked cut bamboo
切竹十字 / cut bamboo cross / きりたけじゅうじ / kiri take jūji
切竹久留子 / cut bamboo cross / きりたけくるす / kiri take kurusu
wooden skein
桛木久留子 / wooden skein cross / かせぎくるす / kasegi kurusu
square cross
Hioki cross
six directional tortoise shell
巴
tomoe
tomoe
鞆絵 / tomoe / ともえ / tomoe
inverse tomoe
magatama tomoe
split suhama chasing each other
kickball tomoe
変わり巴 / transfigured tomoe / かわりともえ / kawari tomoe
輪違い
staggered rings
a number of interlocked rings
woven bamboo kettle trivet
kettle trivet Navagraha
door lock
braided diamond outline
陰結び菱 / knotted diamond outline / かげむすびびし / kage musubi bishi
共通の結び
common knots
treasure knot
floral vine style treasure knot
knotted oak
珍しい結び
uncommon knots
interlocked knotted rings
broken interlocked rings
six broken golden rings
六つ割り金輪崩し / six split broken golden rings / むつわりかなわくずし / mutsu wari kanawa kuzushi
transfigured bellflower kettle trivet
cherry blossom staggered rings
knotted kettle trivet
three united knotted oaks
staggered ring four floral diamonds
braided x-mark in a circle, drawn in one stroke
knotted four-eyed diamond
knotted tortoise shell
eight braided squares
knotted square
万字
swastika
broken swastika
four linked swastikas
四つ持ち合い万字 / four united swastikas / よつもちあいまんじ / yotsu mochiai manji
四つ万字崩し / four broken swastikas / よつまんじくずし / yotsu manji kuzushi
broken lightning bolt
Japanese character for “i” diamond
イの字菱 / Japanese character for “i” diamond / いのじびし / i no ji bishi
four stone wheel
重ね石 / layered stones / かさねいし / kasane ishi
four gathered standing drums
swastika circle
twisted swastika
twisted swastika diamond
horn swastika
組
braid
braided x-mark
組み筋違 / braided x-mark / くみすじかい / kumi sujikai
three braided together mountains
transfigured broken tortoise shell
捻
twist
tatami kettle trivet
four stones eating into each other
四つ喰入石 / four stones eating into each other / よつくいいりいし / yotsu kui iri ishi
四つ重ね石 / four layered stones / よつかさねいし / yotsu kasane ishi
獅子
lion
lion
獅子毛 / lion mane / ししげ / shishige
susuki ring
稲妻
lightning bolt
twined lightning bolt
lightning bold standing drum
非周期的な形状
non-cyclical shape
引
pulls
squared-off characters
算木 / counting rods / さんぎ / sangi
揃い引 / collection of pulls / そろいひき / soroi hiki
three cut cubes
characters
jagged characters
揺文字 / vibrating characters / ゆりもじ / yuri moji
wavy characters
揺文字 / vibrating characters / ゆりもじ / yuri moji
zig-zag stripes
pulls
The etymology of 「引」 is mysterious. Sometimes specified as 「引両」, or less commonly as 「引霊」, 「引領」, 「引料」, or 「引竜」.
pulls exiting a circle
引違い抜簾 / interlocked pulls with a bamboo trough tool / ひきちがいぬきす / hiki chigai nukisu
seven conflicting pulls
Bagua
incense figure
源氏香の図 / Genji incense figure / げんじこうのず / genji kōnozu
There are 52 variations on this shape.
霞
mist
mist
spring mist
井
well
well girder
井筒 / well curb / いづつ / izutsu
a variable-number-sided well girder
〜角井桁 / a variable-number-sided well girder / 〜かくいげた / kakui geta
〜角井 / a variable-number-sided well curb / 〜かくい / kakui
broken well girder
folded well curb
knotted well girder
唐井筒 / arabesque well curb / からいづつ / kara izutsu
interlocked ring well curb
broken well girder subtracted from circle
丸形井筒 / round well curb / まるがたいづつ / marugata izutsu
格子
lattice
lattice
Ku-ji
くの字木菱 / Japanese character for “ku” stick diamond / くのじきびし / ku no ji ki bishi
crossed Ku-ji
九字直違 / crossed Ku-ji / くじすじかい / ku ji sujikai
Ku-ji stencil
sixteen musashi
箱
boxes
measuring container
three measuring containers
broken measuring container
菱
diamond
split diamond
武田菱 / Takeda diamond / たけだびし / takeda bishi
fortune diamond
There are a ton of family crests that are variants on this.
arabesque pine diamond
hazy flower diamond
four layered diamonds
diamond counterweight
counterweight diamond
interlocked pincers
two four-meyuis
松皮
pine bark
pine bark
松皮菱 / pine bark diamond / まつかわびし / matsukawa bishi
three-storied diamond
five-storied diamond
lightning bolt pine bark
線状
linear
bamboo chip
nock
skewered dango
circle, triangle, square
carpenter’s square
差し金 / carpenter’s square / さしがね / sashigane
bracken
clematis
鉄仙 / clematis / てっせん / tessen
rudder
Tの字型
T-shaped
sword
nail
fan
battledore
paddle
hairpin
waterway signpost
four standing drums joined together
ginkgo
山
mountain
mountain
floral mountain
Mt. Fuji
three mountains
exiting mountain
入山 / entering mountain / にゅうざん / nyūzan
差し金違い山 / interlocked carpenters squares mountain / さしがねちがいやま / sashigane chigai yama
three braided interlocked mountains
鐶
kettle handle
kettle handle
arabesque kettle handle
地紙
fan
fan paper
Means ground paper because it’s the backing paper; it’s just cut in the shape of a fan.
a number-boned folding fan
洲浜
suhama
suhama
州浜 / suhama / すはま / suhama
demon suhama
変わり洲浜 / transfigured suhama / かわりすはま / kawari suhama
bellflower suhama
vine suhama
hazy suhama
transfigured suhama
有機Uの字型
organic U-shaped
popular wisteria flower
broken tortoise shell
pine needle
bound monkey
dragon scales
side view of a gardenia
walnut
雁金
goose
goose
knotted goose
具Uの字型
tool U-shaped
hoe
koto bridge
knot
Represents an 「御神籤」: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-mikuji
spool
bridge pillar
分銅
counterweight
counterweight
pregnant counterweight
鼓
hand drum
hand drum
輪鼓 / ring drum / りゅうご / ryūgo
立鼓 / standing drum / りゅうご / ryūgo
warped standing drum
waist drum
Japanese character for “standing” standing drum
Bの字型
B-shaped
levee stakes
Represents stakes which hold up gabions (nets of rocks) in traditional Japanese levees.
hazy moon
sun and moon
pestle
interlocked square and ring
ring of wisdom
金輪崩し / broken golden rings / かなわくずし / kana wa kuzushi
arabesque round fan
united bridle bits
Aの字型
A-shaped
Japanese chess piece
calamus
菖蒲革 / calamus leather / しょうぶがわ / shōbu gawa
菖蒲の葉 / calamus leaf / しょうぶのは / shōbu no ha
shamisen bridge
three stones
plover
rising wave
metal buckle
Oの字型
O-shaped
net
Korin plum
round fan crossed with citrus tachibana
ruyi
Buddhist temple cloud plate
打板 / Buddhist temple cloud plate / ちょうばん / chōban
gem
handball
Korin chrysanthemum
万寿菊 / longevity chrysanthemum / まんじゅぎく / manju giku
imperial hall style yin yang ring
変更
modifier
変更 – 中身
modifier – filling
ring
gun
carrying vs shadow
bridle bit
lightning bolt
stencil
変更 – 変形
modifier – transformation
flat vs standing
bean
変更 – 屈折
modifier – distortion
warped
swollen
smoothed
vibrating
demon
pregnant
twisted
変更 – 崩し
modifier – breaking
split
split outward
peeking
変更 – コピー
modifier – copying
arranged
wheel
united
種類間ショーケース
cross-category showcase
Bibliography
- http://819529.com
- http://bimajin.jp/article_page/367
- http://blog.livedoor.jp/ctc_tokyo/archives/50746833.html
- http://blog.livedoor.jp/karakusaya
- http://d.hatena.ne.jp/ky823/20170128
- http://design-archive.pref.yamanashi.jp/pattern
- http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/854627
- http://foryou-sashiko.com
- http://gari.boo.jp/skiyaki/skiyaki_hishi.html
- http://hamadasekizai.com/casa-memoria/pattern
- http://japanese-pattern.info
- http://japla.sakura.ne.jp
- http://kamondb.com
- http://kogin.net
- http://kskdesign.com.au/blog_files/category-patterns.html
- http://m-4f607310ab5e2800-m.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2009/03/index.html
- http://minagi.p-kit.com
- http://monyo100shu.shop
- http://naoching.blog34.fc2.com
- http://root20f.so.land.to/tenogoi
- http://sakai-sekizai.co.jp
- http://soraniware.syoutikubai.com
- http://tthoriu1022.jugem.jp
- http://woodenpolyhedra.web.fc2.com
- http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~kondou/henso/henso.html
- http://www.37gi.com/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E4%BC%9D%E7%B5%B1%E5%9E%8B%E7%B4%99%E5%9B%B3%E9%91%91
- http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus
- http://www.akinofont.com/shop
- http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~kikka/monyou.htm
- http://www.genbu.net/sinmon
- http://www.geocities.jp/goats_of_clone/diary-5
- http://www.geocities.jp/kimurasanjin/zzq100.html
- http://www.harimaya.com
- http://www.ikiya.jp
- http://www.iwai-masaka.jp
- http://www.moxiico.com/mondesign
- http://www.natubunko.net/wagara
- http://www.odorokikobo.com/kumiko.html
- http://www.silk-center.or.jp/msnl/221.html
- http://www.tumugi.co.jp/tsumugi/pattern.html
- http://www.tupian114.com/sheji/20579.html
- http://www.wikiwand.com/ja/%E6%96%87%E6%A7%98%E7%BE%A4
- http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/sakura
- http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~hanaki/photoshop_kouza/00pattern/pattern_top.html
- http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~rabichan
- http://xn--ebk785nxoaw29f.jp/
- http://yokohama-kimono-asobi.com/monyoo
- https://ameblo.jp/fuuka-usagi-kohu-hina/entry-12382317281.html
- https://blog-osaka.takashimaya.co.jp/gofuku
- https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/siduqui/19062828.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_(emblem)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sashiko_stitching
- https://hyuichi.exblog.jp
- https://j344.exblog.jp
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%93%E3%81%8E%E3%82%93%E5%88%BA%E3%81%97
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%BA%E3%81%97%E5%AD%90
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%B6%E7%B4%8B%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7
- https://kamon-db.net
- https://kotarenco.exblog.jp
- https://kotobank.jp
- https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2142614587291555601
- https://metrocs.jp/special/bamboographic
- https://nashiwata.exblog.jp
- https://onlineshop.motoji.co.jp/onlineshop
- https://shimaya.info
- https://sites.google.com/site/cinderellajapan/sasiko
- https://tanoshikurashi.com
- https://twitter.com/mohuxicaciw/media
- https://twitter.com/hyqanowajep/media
- https://www.benricho.org/kamon
- https://www.getit01.com/p20180103129587561
- https://www.kamon18.com
- https://www.komon-ya.net/pattern
- https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=3220635
- https://www.somesho.net/shop
- https://www.tanihata.co.jp
- https://www.tsujitoku.net/kamon
I also came across a few books that might be of interest, though I only actually referenced a couple of these:
- 北斎模様画譜 / 北斎 葛飾 / n/a
- 紋章百選 / 間瀬 正也 / n/a
- 日本の家紋 / 青幻舎 / 4861520037
- 日本・中国の文様事典 / 早坂 優子 / 4881081500
- 和の意匠にみる文様の名の物語 / 木村 孝 / 4473032752
- Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook: Patterns, Projects and Inspirations / Susan Briscoe / 0715318470
- Japanese Quilting: Sashiko / Hiromitsu Takano / 0713486341
- 刺し子の文様 / ブティック社 / 4834739554
- 嫁入り道具の花ふきん教室 / 近藤 陽絽子 / 4766001974
- 嫁入り道具の花ふきん / 近藤 陽絽子 / 4766001834
- クロスステッチで楽しむ和の模様 / 遠藤 佐絵子 / 4309284051
- 小紋文様 (伝統の染織工芸意匠集) / 高田 啓史 / 476611826X
Footnotes
1
I’ve just returned home from briefly living in Japan, where I became obsessed with the country’s wealth of traditional geometric patterns and shapes. They are found across every craft, from apparel to ceramics to architecture.
Often I struggled to find the name of a particular pattern or shape. Several times I’d ask a Japanese person on the spot but found it difficult to convey to them the information I was seeking; I suspect that these patterns are ubiquitous enough that the average Japanese person sees right through them. My Japanese language skills are also not so great, limiting my precision in such situations, as well as my Google image search powers.
Now it’s not so tough to find one of the many online posts in English which provide the names for the dozen or so most common traditional geometric Japanese patterns. Most of these will even provide a chunk of history, or contextualize the pattern by describing what it connotes or what it’s most commonly found adorning. My goal was not to provide this sort of detail (depending on the pattern, though, I may have notes about history or context, so if you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll be happy to share what I’ve found). I just wanted to provide a one-stop, eye-opener of a place with a somewhat comprehensive survey of all the patterns.
I tried to avoid word-based explanation as much as possible, letting the differences in the pictures speak for themselves. I couldn’t always get it perfect though. Some pictures illustrate differences but you have to use your imagination to subtract some irrelevant noise. For example, having sourced these images from all over the internet, many of the comparisons do not have the same thickness of the strokes, so I’m almost never addressing thickness here (great illustration of the thickness continuum here, though: http://minagi.p-kit.com/page136602.html)
2
Regarding the level of comprehensiveness I’ve achieved here: I had to cut myself off somewhere. Japan has so many traditional crafts, and so many of these crafts have their own sets of patterns, sometimes even hundreds of their own, that if I were to attempt to catalog them all, I’d never finish. So I’m not going to document every sashiko stitch, Kogin stitch, kumiko lattice, presentation design, kasuri pattern, shibori pattern, tokko pattern, parquet pattern, flag symbol, crystal glass texture, or family crest. If you want to deep dive into any of those, be my guest.
It’s a bit complicated because many traditional Japanese patterns can be traced back to China or elsewhere in Asia. Again, I don’t intend to dive into history here. I don’t mean to imply that these patterns are the cultural property primarily of Japan. By the same token I am not including the extensive patterns of the indigenous Ainu or Ryukyu people who in modern day fall within Japanese borders; these are separate traditions worthy of their own deep dives. Admittedly my defined scope is arbitrary, but I suppose I’m shooting for a set of traditional patterns which today are ubiquitous in Japan per my experience traveling around the country and looking at stuff.
I tended to avoid shapes which:
- were representational, especially if it was obvious what they represented, even if it was relatively simple. So I won’t include the shapes for pine tree or paulownia, no matter how popular they are. I did include the plover and wild goose just because of how creative and abstract they do get with their outlines.
- only seemed to be found in a single family crest.
- did not seem to ever be used in combination with other shapes.
- were overly detailed, even if they were quite geometric. I did include quite a few flowers because I thought the subtle differences in their shapes were interesting. A rich tradition of flowery, colorful, detailed, organic patterns also exists in Japan, but here I am just interested in the fundamentally geometric ones.
- were merely stylized single Japanese characters.
- were well known outside of Japanese culture.
On the other hand, I would prioritize ones which I felt were remarkable, subtle (or subtly different from each other), inventive, or highly recognizable. Obviously my decisions were arbitrary and at a certain point borne out of my desire for this project to be finished so I can move on to something else of interest.
My reasoning here is that some readers are going to want to dig deeper and know all the names, and I wasn’t going to recreate all that work. This is more of a toolbox if you want to get inspired to understand the basic building blocks.
3
I’m not an expert on the Japanese language at all, let alone Japanese pronunciation nor Romanization, so I may have made some mistakes or poor translations. I did submit my work to a native Japanese speaker for proofreading. I welcome feedback.
Some of these were pretty hard to find because they aren’t in dictionaries, use ancient Chinese characters, etc.
As a stretch goal I do hope this post can serve as a resource to Japanese speakers as well. As my knowledge of these patterns matured along my quest, I began to notice Japanese language material with vague or inaccurate names captioning their patterns, so I may even be able to help Japanese people get clarity on this area of interest.
4
480×360 pixel black and white PNG. I wanted the background to be transparent but I couldn’t find a way around my free WordPress account’s management of the background color either for when viewing files directly or images in its galleries; it was always black.
I was not interested in patterns whose complexity depends on coloration. There were only a few shapes and patterns which stipulated multiple colors though.
5
I wanted to illuminate the connections between the kanji used in various shapes and patterns, and aid discovering them, so for each one I also included a “literal translation” which is nothing but a one-to-one substitution code of kanji to English words. For example, the shape best translated as “pincer” uses kanji for “nail” and “remove”, so I also provided the name “nail remove”.
Proper nouns lack English translations, but are distinguished by their capitalization. Several Japanese nouns have no equivalent in English, such as tomoe, dango, or shibori, but are not proper nouns, so they are not distinguished by their capitalization; in these cases I have italicized them instead.
Not only do many patterns have multiple names, many names apply to multiple patterns. You have been forewarned.
6
Also, despite focusing on geometric patterns, I am not going to deep dive into the mathematics behind them, such as wallpaper groups (though that work would interest me at some point; in fact I often see wallpaper groups illustrated with Japanese geometric patterns). Here I’m just roughly categorizing by the symmetries and repetitions they evoke, not strictly analyzing their symmetry.
7
A rich culture already exists of experimenting with these patterns. In the field you will find endless re-combinations of shapes and modifiers, and I hope this gives you the toolbox you need to identify them. I have acquired a sizable collection of such experiments, and have planned a few myself. Let me know if you’re in seeing the ones I’ve gathered on my travels (both physical and online).
cmloegcmluin 
Leave a comment