Japanese patterns (wagara)
Wagara are the traditional geometric and natural motifs of Japan, many carrying wishes for health, fortune or protection. Explore 15 classic patterns below — each with its meaning and a recolorable wallpaper you can set on your phone.
麻の葉 Asano-ha
Asanoha is a six-fold star geometry that echoes the leaf of the hemp plant — one of the most recognisable of all Japanese patterns (wagara).
亀甲 Kikkou
Kikkou is a honeycomb of hexagons named for the shell of a tortoise, often filled with a small flower.
市松 Ichimatsu
Ichimatsu is the simple two-color chequerboard — endlessly continuous and quietly bold.
鱗 Uroko
Uroko fills the surface with triangles read as the scales of a snake, fish or dragon.
矢絣 Yagasuri
Yagasuri is a field of arrow feathers (fletching), usually shown as bold vertical bands.
菱 Hishi
Hishi is a lattice of slim diamonds (rhombi) derived from the leaf of the water caltrop.
鹿の子 Kanoko
Kanoko is a field of small tie-dyed dots that resemble the dappled back of a fawn.
釘抜 Kuginuki
Kuginuki takes its shape from the washer of a traditional nail-puller — a square frame around a diamond.
工字繋ぎ Kouji
Kouji-tsunagi links the character 工 ('work') along the diagonal into a continuous key-fret.
鮫小紋 Same-komon
Same-komon is an ultra-fine field of dots arranged in fan-shaped arcs, like shark skin.
流水紋 Ryusuimon
Ryusuimon depicts flowing water as soft, curling streams and eddies.