Gourd

瓢箪 hyōtan

Gourd

Gourds carried water and medicine and were thought to hold good luck; a group of six (mubyō 六瓢) puns on "no illness" (無病).

Ancient lucky symbol; Toyotomi Hideyoshi's gourd standard (16th century)

Gourds were long seen as lucky and appear with deities in early chronicles. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's men raised gourds on spears when they took Inabayama Castle in 1567, and the gourd became his battle standard and a sign of victory. The 'thousand gourds' (sennari-byōtan), one added for each victory, is an Edo-period story rather than history. Puns add meanings: three gourds for good fortune, six gourds (mubyō) for 'no illness'.

Six-gourd charms for health are common; Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto keeps a surviving Hideyoshi gourd standard.

Technique catalog · draft for review

Every way to wrap, carry and wear a furoshiki.

The furoshiki.com archive, sliced into annotated steps with plain directions, plus techniques found in research.