THE MEANINGS WOVEN IN
雪輪
yukiwa
A wish for a rich harvest after a snowy winter.
Snow Rings
01
Where it comes from
A snowflake is drawn as a soft circle with six small notches. Deep snow soaks the fields as it melts, and so it has long been read as a sign of a good year to come. The rings often hold other small patterns inside, as if the snow were keeping them. It is also said to have been used on summer cloth, to bring a feeling of cool.
02
On the cloth
On obi, snow rings are often scattered across the ground, sometimes as outlines, sometimes filled with flowers. Here they fall on cream with vermilion and gold, among cranes and plum blossoms.
03
To give
Yukiwa suits someone going through a long winter of their own, with a hope for the spring after. It is also a gift for a harvest, a good year, or a long-awaited result.
A word to keep
雪は豊年の瑞
yuki wa hōnen no shirushi
Snow is a sign of a year of plenty.
