橘
THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
tachibana
A wish for a long life, still green under the frost.
Tachibana Orange
A long life →01
Where it comes from
Tachibana is an old Japanese citrus, and the pattern joins its leaves with round fruit. Its evergreen leaves, white flowers fragrant in early summer, and fruit like balls of gold were admired alike, and an old poem praises it as a tree that stays green even with frost on its branches. An old tale says a man sent by the emperor to Tokoyo, a far land of long life and happiness, brought back a fragrant fruit that knew no season, and that fruit is said to be the tachibana. A tachibana tree stands before the main hall of the old imperial palace in Kyoto, paired with a cherry.
02
On the cloth
One formal fukuro obi sets tachibana fruit, leaves, and flowers inside rising-steam lines, with a wish for a young woman's happiness. Paired with paulownia, it makes a classic pattern of good fortune on maru obi. Scattered with cherry and wisteria, it suits an obi for late spring into early summer, and its flowers and fruit are usually drawn together.
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To give
Tachibana suits a long-life celebration, a wedding, or a birthday in early summer, the season of its flowers. It is a gift for someone you hope will stay well and green for many years.
A word to keep
常世花
tokoyobana
Flower of Tokoyo. Another name for the tachibana, the sign of a far land of long life and happiness.
Two questions
What does the Tachibana Orange (橘) pattern mean?
A wish for a long life, still green under the frost. Tachibana suits a long-life celebration, a wedding, or a birthday in early summer, the season of its flowers.
Where does the 橘 pattern come from?
Tachibana is an old Japanese citrus, and the pattern joins its leaves with round fruit. Its evergreen leaves, white flowers fragrant in early summer, and fruit like balls of gold were admired alike, and an old poem praises it as a tree that stays green even with frost on its branches.
