THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
唐花
karahana
A wish for good fortune to open, petal by petal.
Flower Rosette
Fortune that grows →01
Where it comes from
Karahana, the Chinese flower, is a flower shape that came from China and is seen in Japan from the Nara period, slowly taking on a Japanese feel. It is not drawn from any real flower: its petals, most often four, each end in three soft rounded points. It is close to hōsōge, an imagined flower of Buddhist art in the Nara and Heian periods, thought to have grown from lotus and grape vine scrolls and treated as a sign of good fortune. From the Heian period on, hōsōge also came to be known by a name meaning Chinese flower.
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On the cloth
One obi draws the lattice of a houndstooth check, chidori-gōshi, with the leaves and stems of karahana. Here, on black and gold, a hōsōge flower opens in gold and yellow inside a roundel of vermilion and white.
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To give
Karahana suits an opening, a celebration, or a gift for someone starting something of their own. It is for someone whose good fortune you hope will keep unfolding.
A word to keep
宝相華
hōsōge
An imagined flower of Buddhist art, close kin to karahana, treated as a sign of good fortune.
Two questions
What does the Flower Rosette (唐花) pattern mean?
A wish for good fortune to open, petal by petal. Karahana suits an opening, a celebration, or a gift for someone starting something of their own.
Where does the 唐花 pattern come from?
Karahana, the Chinese flower, is a flower shape that came from China and is seen in Japan from the Nara period, slowly taking on a Japanese feel. It is not drawn from any real flower: its petals, most often four, each end in three soft rounded points.
