THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
雲取り
kumodori
A wish for good things to drift in, one after another.
Drifting Clouds
A new beginning →01
Where it comes from
Kumodori means taking the shape of clouds: soft, curling outlines that hold other patterns inside them. In Japanese painting, trailing clouds and mist were drawn to part one scene from the next and to show time passing or distance. Clouds were once thought to be where gods and spirits dwell, and clouds seen as a sign of good fortune were given their own name, zuiun. With flowers, waves, or other patterns placed inside, the cloud shapes can look like openings in the sky.
02
On the cloth
On obi, kumodori may frame other motifs in soft windows, or drift between them. Here clouds float with pine and plum on cream and gold; on black, clouds and cranes meet in salmon pink, vermilion, and gold; and on a long table runner, clouds join fans in vermilion, gold, white, and green.
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To give
Kumodori suits a new start or a celebration, and it sits easily beside other motifs. It is a gift for someone you hope good news will keep finding.
A word to keep
瑞雲
zuiun
Auspicious clouds. Clouds said to appear as a sign of good fortune.
From our cloth
Two questions
What does the Drifting Clouds (雲取り) pattern mean?
A wish for good things to drift in, one after another. Kumodori suits a new start or a celebration, and it sits easily beside other motifs.
Where does the 雲取り pattern come from?
Kumodori means taking the shape of clouds: soft, curling outlines that hold other patterns inside them. In Japanese painting, trailing clouds and mist were drawn to part one scene from the next and to show time passing or distance.
