Birds

鳥 tori

Birds

A generic bird motif. Specific birds carry their own meanings: the crane means longevity, the plover perseverance, the sparrow abundance.

Bird-and-flower (kachō) art tradition, from Chinese models; Japanese examples from before the Kamakura period

Birds with flowers were a major theme of Japanese art, first surviving on lacquer and metalwork. Muromachi Zen monks painted them in ink, Momoyama Kano painters on gold castle screens, and Edo Rinpa, Maruyama-Shijō and ukiyo-e artists such as Hiroshige continued the theme. Individual birds carry their own meanings (crane, plover, sparrow), but a generic bird motif is decorative.

Bird-and-flower designs remain one of the commonest kimono and furoshiki themes.

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.