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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:08:04 GMT -5
This message will inaugurate the long-awaited reference list on Japanese decorative motifs. There are published works on this subject. Some are better than others, but none seem definitive. It's hoped that this effort will serve as an alternative to those published works in that I can draw from all sources, Since this list must revised from time to time, the board will be locked so I can maintain integrity over the list and accept on-going responsibility for maintatining it. In general, no list can ever be complete when the motifs are drawn from the entire Japanese culture, which also includes a large subset of Chinese as well. Some motifs have been in continuous use for millenia; others a few centuries. I'll endeavour to focus on the most commonly seen ones (if such a type exists), and those that have the greatest longevity. FORMAT The first portion of this list will be organized alphabetically by the Japanese term. At some time in the future, a second list will be created that sorts these same items from into groups that will be arranged by an english term. This second list will help non-Japanese speakers to find the Japanese term for a motif. Inasmuch as no single motif can be said to be exclusively masculine or feminine, no attempt will be made to categorize entries on that basis. However, on occasion, a comment concerning the appropriateness of a motif for either gender will be offered in the english listings. Spelling conventions will be identical to those used for the Glossary. Please consult that topic on the "Nust & Bolts" board. Kiyoaki |
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:14:57 GMT -5
aki+gusa (autumn grasses): various autumn flowers and grasses; often includes pampas grass, bush clover, and bell flowers [AoJ, v1, pg. 90, 91, & 137]
arare (hailstone): pattern of small, evenly-spaced squares, which are arranged in checkerboard fashion; alternatively called ishi+datami when used on court fabrics [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 137]
asa+no+ha (hemp leaf): motif based upon the leaf of the hemp plant, which is arranged as an overlapping six-pointed star pattern; almost exclusively used in female clothing (especially in the Taiso Era) [trad.]
ashi+de (reed calligraphy): originally a loose, flowing style of calligraphy used in landscapes and often resembled scenic elements such as rocks, reeds, water, trees and such; now, any style of decoration that employs calligraphy in that fashion [AoJ, v.1, pg. 75 - 78]
ban+e: a style of composition that consist of scattered medallions; typical form of decorative composition during the Heian Era [AoJ, v1, pg. 137]
bussoge (Chinese rose):
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:22:18 GMT -5
chin+kin (sunken+gold): a lacquer technique of decoration; introduced to Japan in the Muromachi Period from China; gold foil is inlaid along carved suface contours [AoJ, v. 1, 137]
chirashi+moyo(scattered motifs): a style of decoration which features apparently randomly scattered motifs, but which preserves a well-balanced composition [JCaTA, pg. 125-131]
dai+myo (great+name): colloguial term for a clan leader; technically, one who held an estate that produced 10,000 koku (50,000 bushels) of rice annually and was subject to Shogun at the time of Tokugaw Ieyasu's death [HoJ, v. 3, pg. __]
date+otoko (Date+men): a dandy or fop; after Date Masamune, dai+myo of Sendai (present Tohoku); during the Genroku Era, he was noted for his showy dress [JCaTA, pg. 40]
dogu: clay figures from the Jomon Period,adored with geometric patterns, and with almond-shaped eyes with a lid (?) line [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 15]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:32:23 GMT -5
Edo+ko+mon (Edo+small+motif): Edo-style textile pattern consiting of small, repeated figures; often used for semi-formal dress by the bushi class [AoJ, v.1, 137]
fuse+saishiki: decorative technique in which a polychrome surface is partially obscured by an openwork covering of tortoise shell or crystal [aoJ, v. 1, 137]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:35:40 GMT -5
hagi: bush clover [rad.]
hana+bishi (flower+diamond): a four-petaled, lobed figure resembling a flower that is often placed in either a diamond or hexagonal lattice; see also kikko- hanabishi; [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 137]
ho-ju: a Buddhist treasure (jewel), which is peach-shaped and is sometimes ringed with flames; said to grant any wish [AoJ, v. 1, 137 - 38]
Ho-rai+san: in Chinese mythology, an island said to be inhabited by Taoist immortals; called P'eng lai Shan; considered an auspicious motif [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 138]
hosoge (jewel face): a floral motif of symmetrical form which is often used as Buddhist ornamentation; perhaps originally based upon the peony, but so abstracted as to constitute a unique motif; popular during the Heian Period [ AoJ, v. 1, pg. 26 - 38]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:41:52 GMT -5
ishi+datami (paving stones): a checkerboard pattern; on yusoku textiles they called arare; also know as Ichimatsu after a 17th century kabuki actor that popularized it among the chonin [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 138]
jokon: a striated pattern; often found on Jomon pottery and created by scraping the wet clay with a scallop shell edge [AoJ, v. 1, pg.138]
jo+mon (cord+pattern): found on pehistoric Japanese pottery; the Jomon Period takes it's name from the characteristic decoration of its' ceramics [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 14 - 16]]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:46:43 GMT -5
ka: a stylized medallion with five lobes; said to be based upon the cross section of a melon or papaya; often combined with arare and ishi+datami[AoJ, v. 1, pg. 138]
kaede: maple leaf form [trad.]
kai+gara (shell+pattern): a shell pattern on Jomon pottery made by impressing the suface of a shell into the pliable clay [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 138]
kara+hana (Chinese+flower):
karakusa: a vine-scroll motif that can be paired with many flowers, but most frequently with lotus, or peony [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 18]
karyobinga (originally 'kalavinka'): a mythical bird with a bell-like voice that has the upper body of a human; said to dwell in the Buddhist paradise [trad.]
kasane+tsugi (layered patches): a collage of color patches often used as background for calligraphy or other decoration; see also yaburi+tsugi
kesa+dasuki (kesa+lattice): named for the resemblance with the rectangular patterns of Buddhist priest surplices ; see also tatsuki [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 17 & 25]
kik'ko-: a hexagonal grid based upon a tutle's carapace; often used with a secondary motif such as a simple flower [AoJ, v. 1, pg. 27 & 54]
kirin: a mythical beast form Chinese lore; said to be a comination of a horse, camel, and dragon with a single horn in its' forehead; its' appearnce signifies peace and tranquility in society [trad.]
kujaku: peafowl, most often the male form
ku+yo (nine+stars): eight disks surrounding a larger ninth one
matsu+kawa+bishi (pine bark diamond): its' form is composed of a large diamond with two smaller ones covering the upper and lower points of the first; sometimes rendered as a ziz-zag line which is use for separating contrasting decoration [trad.]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:51:22 GMT -5
nan+ban (southern+barbarian): depictions of Portuguese and Spanish merchants and missionaries of the 16th century, and any articles introduced by them
nindo+mon (honeysuckle motif): an early Buddhist motif, perhaps acquired from Greece via the Silk Road; often depicted as stems with leaves and a bud at the tip or as a vine scroll or as a palmette [ AoJ, v. 1, pg.20 - 24]
oshi+gata: decoration on Jomon pottery created by pressing objects into the wet clay
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 20:55:10 GMT -5
roku+yo: a large disk surrounded by five smaller ones; saidto derive from Indian astrology; often used as a 'mon'
shachi: a fish-like figure often posed in a tail-up fashion; frequently used as ridge finials on castle towers; perhaps modeled upon the dolphin-fish (otherwise known as dorado) [trad.]
shikshi: squares of tinted or decorated paper used for inscribing poems; often used as a decorative element
sumi+nagashi (ink+ ): a color effect similar to the ink flowing on a wet surface; similar to marbled paper [trad.]
ship'po: a matrix of interlocking circles that creates intersecting lines of thin almond-like figures; often with a secondary motif placed in the interstersal spaces [trad.]
suhama: a stylized sandbar-shaped motif; often used in association with sea and water birds [trad.]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 21:00:26 GMT -5
tasuki (sawtooth): a motif used to decorate borders and composed of triangles infilled with fine lines [ AoJ, v. 1, pg. 24]
tatewaku: a pattern consisting of undulating lines that define oval spaces for secondary elements [trad.]
tomoe (giant comma): similar in form to the magatama; depicted alone or in groupings of two or three, with the 'head' at the center and the 'tail' trailing behind [trad.]
tsujigahana: (crossed flowers): a style of decoration that developed in the Momoyama Period, which consists of various flower heads and crosses or checkerboard patterns executed in various tie-dye techniques; zig-zag borders separate contrasting areas of color [trad.]
uchiwa: a fan with fixed frame; its' shape is often used as a motif in its' own right and to frame vingettes of landscape or genre scenes
uta+e (poem+picture): a decorative image taken from poetic themes [trad.]
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Post by Kiyoaki on Apr 26, 2004 21:05:23 GMT -5
wachigai: a patten formed by five interlocking
rings, with four of them evenly spaced around the fifth; see also ship'po
yaburi+ tsugi (torn+patches): a background of amorphous blocks of color; often used for calligraphy but also for textiles [trad.]
yama+gata (mountain+shape): can be as minimal as a horizontal zig-zag line or a series of five-pronged variation on the Chinese ideogram for "mountain" [ AoJ, v. 1, pg. 15]
yoroi+ito: a twine pattern that appears on Jomon potttery
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