THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
松皮菱
matsukawabishi
A wish for days stacked one on another, lasting like the pine.
Pine Bark Diamond
A long life →01
Where it comes from
A diamond has a smaller diamond set above it and below it. The name is said to come from the way the bark of a pine splits, and it is also called simply matsukawa, pine bark. One book holds that it began as the curving outline of a suhama island drawn in straight lines, and another that the pine name was given later to a shape that came first. It can stand alone or be linked in a row, and since the medieval period it has served both as a woven pattern and as a crest.
02
On the cloth
Pine bark diamonds often serve as frames, holding other motifs that have no tie to the shape, and the frames can be linked in a row. On wedding furisode and uchikake, the shape has been used to divide the robe into broad areas of color. Because of the pine in its name, it is often paired with plum or bamboo as a pattern of good omen.
03
To give
Matsukawabishi suits a wedding, or the start of a shared life. It is for two people about to stack up many years together.
A word to keep
松皮
matsukawa
Pine bark. Another name for this pattern, after the way the bark of a pine splits.
Two questions
What does the Pine Bark Diamond (松皮菱) pattern mean?
A wish for days stacked one on another, lasting like the pine. Matsukawabishi suits a wedding, or the start of a shared life.
Where does the 松皮菱 pattern come from?
A diamond has a smaller diamond set above it and below it. The name is said to come from the way the bark of a pine splits, and it is also called simply matsukawa, pine bark.
