We gathered some introductory information about four different popular patterns that can be seen everywhere in Japan from logo designs to the kimonos of manga and anime characters. Have a look below at these timeless traditional patterns and find out how they are still widely used in modern Japanese culture.
Hemp Leaves
Asanoha
Recently popularized by Nezuko in the anime series, Demon Slayer, this pattern represents hemp leaves as "asa" means leaf and hemp is "ha" in Japanese. Hemp is a symbol for strength and vitality so it makes sense to associate these ideas with a strong anime character. However, hemp has been a significant material in Japan long before the conception of manga as it was often used to make clothing for commoners until around 1600 and was used to make sacred rope for religious purposes called "shimenawa" that made its first appearance in recorded history in mythology surrounding the deity, Amaterasu Omikami. Shimenawa even today can often be seen used at shrines and ceremonies of the Japanese Shinto religion for warding off evil spirits and a variation of this type of rope is worn by grand champion sumo wrestlers. Hemp is also still used for summer kimonos and is a central material and theme for some modern Tokyo fashion brands such as GOHEMP in Ebisu. Endless examples of its presence in traditional and popular culture seem to be found in about every corner of Japan so it can be easily concluded that hemp as a symbol and material still resonates pretty deeply with Japanese people and will likely not be going away anytime soon.
Checkered
This pattern dates back many centuries and is also worn by several characters in Demon Slayer. Ichimatsu refers to the alternating square pattern as you would find on a checker board but can additionally be used to describe other types of Japanese grid designs too like one of the tea canisters in our store.
Ichimatsu is a symbol of longevity especially in regard to business. This might be why we see it even outside of Japan on well-known Louis Vuitton items which are similarly associated with prestige and wealth worldwide. However, we also recently saw an interesting variation of this symbol and meaning with the "kumi-ichimatsu" pattern of the logo for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games which featured different square and rectangular shapes being used to represent the diversity of people and cultures becoming unified through this world event.
Winding Vines
Karakusa
The karakusa pattern first appeared in Egypt and made its way to Japan during the Asuka Period (598 to 710) via the Silk Road in China like many other patterns in Japan. It is a symbol of prosperity and longevity since the plants seem to grow forever. It is often seen as a pattern for Japanese traditional wrapping cloths called "furoshiki". It actually has made an appearance on a one of our tea canisters at TIKUSAN.
Blue Ocean Waves
Seigaiha
Japan is surrounded by the ocean so a pattern like this becoming popular makes a lot of sense. Seigaiha in Japanese consists of the three Chinese kanji characters for ”Blue", "Ocean", and Wave” in that order. The seigaiha pattern is quite ubiquitous today and made its debut in Japan during the 6th century. It is said to have come from Persia through China where it was often used on ancient maps to represent the sea. In Japan it was later used as a symbol of authority by the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo Period (1603-1868) in Japan. The surging waves in this design seem to stretch on forever making it a symbol for ideas like good luck, power, eternal peace and happiness. Most recently, we have seen a clever twist on this pattern in the free wi-fi logo of the mountainous tourist city of Takayama. If you ever visit Takayama, you can go on an anime site tour where you can learn more about the intersection of tradition and pop culture in Japan.
