THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
矢絣
yagasuri
A wish to keep going forward, without turning back.
Arrow Feathers
01
Where it comes from
The shape is taken from the feathers at the end of an arrow, set in rows that alternate. Arrow feathers were a favorite of samurai households, and in the Edo period the pattern dressed the women who served in their inner quarters. In the Meiji era it became the pattern of young women setting out to study, worn with hakama. Because an arrow, once it leaves the bow, does not come back, it is also told as a pattern given to brides.
02
On the cloth
Yagasuri is most often seen on kimono, woven or dyed in stripes of arrow feathers, often in purple or deep red. Here the same forward-pointing rhythm runs as chevrons in red, green, gold, and white, close to arrow feathers in feeling.
03
To give
It suits someone setting out: a new school, a new job, a move to a new city. It is a gift that says, go ahead, and keep going.
Two questions
What does the Arrow Feathers (矢絣) pattern mean?
A wish to keep going forward, without turning back. It suits someone setting out: a new school, a new job, a move to a new city.
Where does the 矢絣 pattern come from?
The shape is taken from the feathers at the end of an arrow, set in rows that alternate. Arrow feathers were a favorite of samurai households, and in the Edo period the pattern dressed the women who served in their inner quarters.
