椿
THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
tsubaki
A wish to be kept safe through the cold, until spring comes.
Camellia
Kept safe →01
Where it comes from
Tsubaki is drawn from the camellia's flowers, leaves, and branches: a red flower that opens in early spring among thick, glossy evergreen leaves. Long ago the camellia was held to be a sacred tree, and a staff of camellia wood once used at the start of the year to drive off evil is kept in the Shōsōin treasure house in Nara. Because the flower falls whole from the branch, warriors avoided it and it was rarely made into a crest, yet ordinary people loved it as a tree that announced spring. Its bright flowers were redrawn in many free forms.
02
On the cloth
On obi, camellia has been woven with its flowers boldly reshaped. It was seldom made into a crest, and was loved on cloth instead as a bright, freely drawn flower.
03
To give
Camellia suits the last days of winter, or a birthday in early spring. It is a gift for someone you hope will be kept safe through the cold, and greet the spring.
A word to keep
葉広真椿
habiro matsubaki
Broad-leaved true camellia. Words from an ancient song, praising the camellia's shining evergreen leaves.
Two questions
What does the Camellia (椿) pattern mean?
A wish to be kept safe through the cold, until spring comes. Camellia suits the last days of winter, or a birthday in early spring.
Where does the 椿 pattern come from?
Tsubaki is drawn from the camellia's flowers, leaves, and branches: a red flower that opens in early spring among thick, glossy evergreen leaves. Long ago the camellia was held to be a sacred tree, and a staff of camellia wood once used at the start of the year to drive off evil is kept in the Shōsōin treasure house in Nara.
