Title
- Surface pattern (waritsuke monyō 割付文様), plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様): kikkō tsunagi 亀甲繋ぎ with chrysanthemums
Collection
Period | Style | School
Material | Technique
Measurements
- height: 24.7 cm
- width: 40.8 cm
- 1 Muster - height: 15.9 cm
- 1 Muster - width: 34.6 cm
Inventory number
- OR 3925-521
Acquisition
- assumption , 1907
Department
- Asia Collection
Description
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"White ground" (jishiro 地白), "main stencil" (omogata 主型). Surface pattern with hexagon (kikkō 亀甲) and chrysanthemums arranged like tiles.
Kikkō tsunagi 亀甲繋ぎ (connected tortoiseshells/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), Surface pattern (waritsuke monyō 割付文様), plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様): kikkō tsunagi 亀甲繋ぎ with chrysanthemums, Anonym, MAK Inv.nr. OR 3925-521
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https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collect/surface-pattern-waritsuke-monyo-割付文様-plant-pattern-shokubutsu-monyo-植物文様-kikko-tsunagi-亀甲繋ぎ-with-c_315403
Last update
- 25.04.2026
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