Traditional Japanese Motifs and Patterns

I'm a very big fan of traditional Japanese patterns vs modern, contemporary patterns. Well, I do appreciate certain contemporary patterns - but they don't hold a special place in my heart as the traditional ones do.
There is something very aesthetically pleasing about traditional patterns, designs and colour combinations that just never seem to work with Western clothing.


To date - my top three favourite traditional patterns (in order) are:

Ume (plum blossom)

Chidori (plover)

Kanoko Shibori (a type of tie-die)

Asanoha (hemp leaf pattern)

(oops - top four, I guess!)

Lately, I've been looking at kimono, obi and fabric that contain traditional patterns and now, I am very excited - the other week, I purchased this obi:


It has the most adorable plump little chidori jumping over wave patterns on it. It is made from summer ro silk.

My next excitable purchase was this tan of asanoha kimono fabric.