Title
- Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), surface pattern (waritsuke monyō 割付文様): tendrils and paulownia and parts of hexagon surface pattern (yabure kikkō 破れ亀甲; "shredded" kikkō) with chrysanthemum motif
Collection
Period | Style | School
Material | Technique
Measurements
- height: 31 cm
- width: 41.4 cm
- 1 Muster - height: 20.3 cm
- 1 Muster - width: 35 cm
Inventory number
- OR 3925-1315
Acquisition
- assumption , 1907
Department
- Asia Collection
Description
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"Dyed ground" (jizomari 地染), probably a part of a set (hazure はずれ).
The paulownia motif (kiri 桐) symbolizes purity, happiness, and prosperity. Because a Chinese legend supposedly says that the phoenix only ensconces on a paulownia, it also symbolizes high status and was used as the 'private' crest of the imperial family. After the Meiji Restoration, the paulownia became the emblem of the Japanese government as the "5-7 Paulownia" (go-shichi (no) kiri 五七桐).
Kikkō tsunagi 亀甲繋ぎ (connected tortoise shells/hexagons): a geometric pattern of hexagons, that was already found in Sassanid art and is said to have come to Japan via China and Korea during the Nara period (710-794). Because of the resemblance to the turtle shell shield, it is called kikko 亀甲. It counts as an auspicious pattern (kisshō monyō 吉祥文様) and since the Heian period (794-1185, also 794-1192) also as a 'courtly pattern' (yūsoku monyō 有職文様).
The chrysanthemum (kiku 菊) symbolizes longevity, which dates back to a Chinese legend. The Yellow River once originated in a chrysanthemum meadow, and a villager who drank from the spring achieved a long life. In Japan, the motif first appears in the Kokin-wakashū 古今和歌集 (early 10th century), while the Man’yōshū 万葉集 from the 8th century lists 157 plant species but does not contain a single poem about chrysanthemums. It is therefore assumed that the flower was first introduced to Japan from China at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century.
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stencil (katagami 型紙), Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), surface pattern (waritsuke monyō 割付文様): tendrils and paulownia and parts of hexagon surface pattern (yabure kikkō 破れ亀甲; "shredded" kikkō) with chrysanthemum motif, Anonym, MAK Inv.nr. OR 3925-1315
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https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collect/plant-pattern-shokubutsu-monyo-植物文様-surface-pattern-waritsuke-monyo-割付文様-tendrils-and-paulownia-and-parts-of-hexagon-surface-patte_317975
Last update
- 25.04.2026
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