Two tilted Soma sake cups showing running horses, crackled glaze and heart-shaped openings.


Walk through the gift floor of a Japanese department store and the patterns begin to reveal themselves. A plate may carry a wish as well as a design. A knot may hold a gift together while also expressing what the giver hopes for its recipient.

Japan has a long history of communicating through visual forms. Kamon, the family crests still seen on formal kimono and gravestones, developed in the latter part of the Heian period, which lasted between the 8th and 12th centuries. Aristocrats placed distinctive emblems on their ox-drawn carriages so that their identity and status could be recognised at a glance. Mizuhiki, the decorative paper cords tied around gifts and ceremonial envelopes, may have roots reaching back more than 1,400 years, although their precise origin remains uncertain. Over time, the colour, number and shape of the cords came to express the nature of the occasion.

Those meanings are not always fixed. They can change according to the period, region, object or combination of motifs. A crane alone may suggest longevity; a pair can speak more clearly of partnership. A plover is auspicious in its own right, but placed above waves, it becomes an image of facing difficulty together.

Here are some of the wishes these motifs have carried, how they were used in the past and where they can still be found today.


Good fortune appears in many forms across Japanese design. It may be welcomed by a raised paw, carried forward by an arrow or hidden inside the direction in which a horse runs.

Maneki neko (招き猫), the beckoning cat, has been associated with good fortune since the late Edo period. Its origin is not settled, but one of the best-known stories belongs to Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo. According to the temple, a cat beckoned the feudal lord Ii Naotaka through its gate shortly before thunder and rain arrived. He later became a patron of the temple. The details vary between accounts, but the cat’s raised paw remains instantly understandable: something good is being invited in. The motif appears today on Seikou Kiln’s Kutani ware and KIHARA’s TOKYO ICON Beckoning Cat plate.

Yagasuri (矢絣) resembles the feathers that keep an arrow moving steadily towards its destination. Because a released arrow continues forward, the pattern acquired associations with purpose, progress and good fortune. It became familiar on women’s kimono and was often chosen for moments of departure or transition. KIHARA carries the motif onto its KOMON Arrow Feather plate.
A collage of eight product photos showcasing various Japanese crafts and souvenirs, including white ceramic maneki-neko (lucky cats), a blue and white Yagasuri patterned plate with a yellow soap dish, red Daruma doll chopstick and chopstick rest set in a wooden box. A white ceramic plate in gold Fortune Knot shape.

Kichijō musubi (吉祥結び), the good fortune knot, crosses and returns through its centre without a loose beginning or end. Used in decorative knotting and mizuhiki, it carries wishes for health, happiness and good fortune. On Taseigama’s MUSUBI Arita ware plate, the knot shapes the porcelain itself rather than sitting on its surface as decoration.

Daruma (達磨) offers a more active form of good fortune. A traditional daruma is often sold with both eyes blank. One is filled when a goal is set and the other when it is achieved, making the figure a reminder of perseverance as much as luck. The Dream Daruma chopstick set shows both eyes completed: a wish fulfilled rather than one still in progress.
Close-up of the Soma mug’s running horse on grey-green crackle glaze above the dark lower band.

In Fukushima, Ōbori Soma ware carries hashirigoma (走り駒), the running horse. It is traditionally painted facing left, a reference to the expression migi ni deru mono ga nai: there is no one to its right, or nothing surpasses it. The horse has become a regional symbol of good fortune and prosperity, appearing across Matsunaga Kiln’s Soma ware cups and sake sets.

When this meaning fits
Good fortune feels most at home at a beginning: a new job, first flat, graduation, encouraging exam results or the start of a business. These motifs do not promise success. They give the object a way to express hope for what comes next.


Some motifs draw their meaning from what survives: a flower opening in the cold, an evergreen holding its leaves or a plant returning year after year.

Umekiku (梅菊) brings together two flowers with complementary meanings. Ume, the plum blossom, opens while winter is still present and came to represent resilience; kiku, the chrysanthemum, is associated with longevity and wellbeing. Together, they express the wish for a life that is both long and strong. Seikou Kiln carries the combined pattern across its Kutani ware collection, while KIHARA’s KOMON Chrysanthemum plate shows how kiku can also be used on its own.

The plum also appears in mizuhiki as ume musubi (梅結び), a cord tied into five rounded petals. It has long been used on celebratory and New Year gift envelopes, combining the flower’s endurance with the security of a firmly held knot. Taseigama includes the form in its six-piece MUSUBI plate set.
A collage of Japanese tableware and decor items with Umekiku patterned plates, cups, a bowl, a box of white flower-shaped sweets, a dark patterned plate, chrysanthemum, plum and a small vase on a table.

The chrysanthemum has an unusually formal place in Japan. It became associated with the Imperial Family and can still be seen on the Japanese passport and fifty-yen coin. Repeated in blue and white on KIHARA’s KOMON Chrysanthemum plate, the same flower becomes part of an everyday table.

Tsubaki (椿), the camellia, keeps its dark green leaves throughout the year and flowers during the colder months. Its associations have varied over time, but its evergreen character has connected it with longevity, protection and quiet endurance. It appears as one of the traditional patterns on Seikou Kiln’s Good Fortune Cup.

When this meaning fits
Longevity and resilience suit moments that recognise what someone has already lived through: recovery, a milestone birthday, retirement or a long achievement completed patiently. They can also express a quieter wish that a good period of life will continue.


Patterns associated with prosperity often repeat. A wave returns, a grid extends beyond the visible edge, and neither offers a clear final point.

Seigaiha (青海波) is formed from overlapping arcs arranged like calm waves. The pattern is believed to have originated in ancient Persia and travelled through China before reaching Japan more than a thousand years ago. Its Japanese name is associated with a court dance performed in wave-patterned robes. As the arcs continue across a surface, they suggest an unbroken sea and happiness extending into the future. KIHARA’s KOMON Seigaiha plate preserves that sense of continuation by carrying the waves to its edges.

Ishidatami (石畳) takes its name from stone paving arranged in a grid. The checks can continue in every direction, which led to associations with continuing growth, prosperity and protection against misfortune. The pattern later became widely known as ichimatsu after the eighteenth-century kabuki actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu wore it on stage. Centuries later, a modern version of the same chequered grid was chosen as the emblem of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Seikou Kiln uses ishidatami across its Kutani ware tableware.

When this meaning fits
Prosperity and continuity suit a new home, business or long-term project. They can also mark something still being built: a creative practice, a life in a new city or an ambition someone hopes will continue to grow.
A four-panel product presentation showing a ceramic mug with Seigaiha patterns. The left panel displays a close-up of turquoise and brown fish-scale tiles that are called Ishidatami pattern in Japan.


A knot expresses connection directly. Other motifs arrive at the same idea through behaviour: birds crossing waves together or cranes appearing as a pair.

Musubi (結び) means tying or connection. In traditional Japanese gift wrapping, the type of knot matters. Some knots can be untied and tied again for happy occasions that may be repeated. Others are made difficult to undo and are used for events intended to happen only once. The knot therefore forms part of the message rather than simply finishing the wrapping. Taseigama’s red and blue MUSUBI plate pair turns that idea of connection into two pieces intended to remain together.

Chidori (千鳥) are small plovers often shown moving across water. On their own, they are auspicious birds. Placed above waves, the images becomes nami-chidori with more specific meaning: The rough water represents the difficulties of the wider world, while the birds continue across it together. The pattern therefore came to express marital harmony, household safety and the ability to overcome hardship side by side. Those associations made nami-chidori appropriate for celebratory textiles, including bridal furisode. Seikou Kiln carries the birds over waves on its Chidori plate, cup and rice bowl.
A collage of multiple Japanese-inspired motifs that are related to bonding : two white ceramic Musubi knot plates in a wooden gift box, a red and white knot, a flock of birds in the sky, a blue gradient vase with gold crane motifs on a black base, a blue-and-white Chidori patterned bowl, a matching cup and plate, a close-up of the wave pattern, and a blue crane standing in a field.

Tsuru (鶴), the crane, has long been associated with longevity. A single crane often carries that meaning alone. A pair shifts the emphasis towards harmony and an enduring partnership, which is why cranes have appeared on wedding kimono and ceremonial objects for centuries. The Kutani Ware Silver Twin Cranes vase continues that association, using silver foil beneath the glaze to give the pair a softer metallic depth.

When this meaning fits
Motifs of lasting connection belong naturally at weddings and anniversaries, but they need not be reserved for couples. They can speak equally well to family, a long friendship or a household that has already weathered change together.

Choosing a motif to live with
You do not need to know a motif’s full history before responding to it. Its colour, repetition or shape may be what catches your attention first. Knowing its meaning simply adds another layer: a reason one plate feels right for a new home, why two cranes suit an anniversary, or why a running horse might mark a beginning.

The meaning may be why an object is chosen, but everyday use gives it a history of its own. Over time, the traditional wish and the owner’s personal associations begin to sit together.

Explore objects chosen for the wishes and meanings they carry in Gift of Sentiment at iromizu.co.uk. Moments Matter.