Shikan stripes

芝翫縞 shikan-jima

Shikan stripes

Kabuki actor pattern: four stripes (shi, 'four') beside a chain of kan (鐶, drawer-pull rings), punning on the stage name Shikan of Nakamura Utaemon III. The linked rings read as 'much in demand' (hiku-te amata) and 'unbroken harmony' (wa ga tsuzuku).

Edo/Osaka kabuki, early 19th century

An actor pattern (yakusha monyō) associated with Nakamura Shikan I, the haimyō (poetry name) of the Osaka star Nakamura Utaemon III (1778–1838). Like other actor patterns it was a visual pun on the actor's name, and fans wore it on yukata and tenugui to show support, much as actors' crests and costume designs set fashions in the Edo period.

Still sold as a classic kabuki pattern on tenugui and yukata.

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.