THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
八橋
yatsuhashi
A wish for a long road crossed safely, and someone dear to come back to.
Eight Bridges
Journeys and returns →01
Where it comes from
Yatsuhashi, eight bridges, are narrow planks laid end to end in a zigzag across a stream or pond. The name recalls a place in Mikawa, where a river split like a spider's legs and eight bridges crossed it; the marsh there was known for its irises. In The Tales of Ise, a traveler resting there was asked to make a poem with the five sounds ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta at the head of its lines, and wrote of the long road behind him and the one he loved, far away. So the zigzag bridges are most often drawn with irises.
02
On the cloth
On obi, yatsuhashi appears as plank bridges over flowing water, with irises growing beside them. The same scene has been made in gold lacquer on writing boxes and painted on folding screens. Here, on pale blue, a dark plank bridge crosses beside the irises, with chrysanthemums and flowing water.
03
To give
Yatsuhashi suits a farewell, a move far away, or a letter to someone who lives at a distance. It is for someone you think of across the miles, and hope to see again.
A word to keep
蜘蛛手
kumode
Spider's legs. Said of a river that branches out in many directions, as it did at Yatsuhashi.
Two questions
What does the Eight Bridges (八橋) pattern mean?
A wish for a long road crossed safely, and someone dear to come back to. Yatsuhashi suits a farewell, a move far away, or a letter to someone who lives at a distance.
Where does the 八橋 pattern come from?
Yatsuhashi, eight bridges, are narrow planks laid end to end in a zigzag across a stream or pond. The name recalls a place in Mikawa, where a river split like a spider's legs and eight bridges crossed it; the marsh there was known for its irises.
