Lightning

稲妻 inazuma

Lightning

Zigzag lightning. It was believed to make rice ripen (ina-zuma, 'the rice's spouse'), so it wishes for a good harvest.

Folk belief, ancient; used on samurai battle curtains

The word inazuma ('rice spouse') reflects an old belief that lightning fertilised the rice, so flashes in late summer promised a good harvest. The angular zigzag inazuma pattern was used on samurai battle curtains (jinmaku), and is closely related to the Chinese square spiral (raimon) of which it is sometimes treated as a variation.

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.