THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
鹿の子
kanoko
A wish for bonds to be tied, one small knot at a time.
Fawn Spots
Bonds that hold →01
Where it comes from
Kanoko is a pattern of fine pale spots, like the white dapples on a deer's coat. Cloth is bound at tiny points with thread and dyed, and when the thread comes off, each bound point stays pale. It was once called kōkechi or meyui, and from the medieval period it came to be called kanoko. Tied finely across the cloth it is kanoko-yui, and when square spots are lined up neatly on the diagonal it is called hitta.
02
On the cloth
Kanoko has graced kosode robes and obi, and an Edo-period record notes that kanoko on crepe silk was mostly done in scarlet. Its relatives include mame-shibori, round spots the size of beans, often seen on hand towels; the even finer keshi-dama; taki-shibori with its long vertical stripes; and arashi-shibori, fine lines that call to mind a storm's rain.
03
To give
Kanoko suits a gift you have taken time over, or thanks long held. It is for someone who deserves care, counted out dot by dot.
A word to keep
目結
meyui
Tied eyes. Cloth bound with thread and dyed, each tied point left as a pale spot. An old name for kanoko.
Two questions
What wish can the Fawn Spots (鹿の子) pattern carry?
A wish for bonds to be tied, one small knot at a time. Kanoko suits a gift you have taken time over, or thanks long held.
Where does the 鹿の子 pattern come from?
Kanoko is a pattern of fine pale spots, like the white dapples on a deer's coat. Cloth is bound at tiny points with thread and dyed, and when the thread comes off, each bound point stays pale.
