薄
THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
susuki
A wish to be watched over, as the silver grass sways in the autumn wind.
Silver Grass
Kept safe →01
Where it comes from
Susuki is a grass of the autumn fields and one of the seven flowers of autumn. In bloom, its soft plumes look like an animal's tail, so it is also called obana, tail flower; its stems and leaves were used to thatch roofs. It is offered at the autumn moon-viewing, and grass with feathery tips has been seen as a place where gods come to rest. In some rites, fresh susuki marked the place for a god to come down, and in Amami it was set in fields and around houses to keep harm away.
02
On the cloth
Susuki is one of the plants of the autumn grasses pattern, with bush clover, bellflower, and chrysanthemum, sewn onto kosode and obi since long ago. It is often paired with butterflies, and with snow rings, a pairing tied to a god of good harvest who comes down with the snow. On obi it has been woven as stems in many colors, and as whole fields of grass with deer among them.
03
To give
Susuki suits autumn, a moon-viewing, or thanks for a good harvest. It is for someone you hope will be watched over, and whose year will close with plenty.
A word to keep
尾花
obana
Tail flower. Another name for susuki in bloom, for plumes that look like an animal's tail.
Two questions
What does the Silver Grass (薄) pattern mean?
A wish to be watched over, as the silver grass sways in the autumn wind. Susuki suits autumn, a moon-viewing, or thanks for a good harvest.
Where does the 薄 pattern come from?
Susuki is a grass of the autumn fields and one of the seven flowers of autumn. In bloom, its soft plumes look like an animal's tail, so it is also called obana, tail flower; its stems and leaves were used to thatch roofs.
