Thanks to its limited syllabary and a large number of homophones and homographs (different meanings for a given spelling), the Japanese language is fertile ground for all sorts of wordplay. Pair this with a seemingly-unlimited cultural appetite for engimono (auspicious items), and you find yourself surrounded by motifs that function as visual puns. 

There are many guides out there introducing auspicious Japanese motifs and patterns. For our purposes, I was interested in those rooted in a particular play on words. The following are some of the most popular motifs and patterns that have been used for centuries in many contexts, such as printed fabric, netsuke, omamori, paintings, kumade, and more. Once you start looking for them, you’ll see them everywhere. 

Sea bream (tai) 

Sea bream is a favourite with many for its taste and texture, but also its association with good fortune. Its final syllable echoes the word ‘medetai,’ which means ‘happy,’ ‘auspicious,’ or ‘celebratory.’ This red-scaled fish often appears during celebratory occasions, such as on weddings and New Year’s. It’s also the same fish that Ebisu, the fishing deity and one of the Seven Lucky Gods, is often spotted holding under his arm. 

There’s a proverb that goes, tai mo hitori wa umakarazu, or in English, eaten alone, even sea bream doesn’t taste good. In other words, good food requires good company. I’d go a little further and suggest that a celebratory occasion also calls for other people. 

Owl (fukurou)

Who could fail to love owls? These birds have a special place in Japanese culture as they’re thought to bring happiness. The connection is fairly straightforward. ‘Fukurou’ includes the homophone for ‘fuku’ or ‘happiness,’ but can also suggest the phrase ‘fu [no] kurou’ or ‘no hardships/suffering.’ You may encounter them in the form of lucky charms, keychains, furoshiki fabric, and more.   

Ornamental carp (koi)

Colourful carp are everywhere in Japan, from the ponds in Japanese gardens to the bright koinobori streamers on Children’s Day. The word itself is a homonym for the verb ‘come’ (来い) but also ‘love’ (愛), which connects carp with the notion of luck and love arriving at one’s doorstep. 

Beyond the linguistic, koi are beloved for their associations with a plethora of positive traits: prosperity, wealth, vitality, longevity, courage, perseverance, and success. Its connection with perseverance in particular stems from a Chinese myth of carps leaping over the Dragon Gate, a legendary waterfall, whereby the carp are rewarded for their troubles by transforming into dragons. Astute Pokemon players may have noticed that this is the inspiration for Magikarp’s transformation into Gyarados. The moral of the story: You can become a dragon if you try hard enough. Even if you’re just a silly little carp. 

Left horse (hidariuma)

If you’ve ever looked closely at kumade — bamboo rakes shaped like a bear’s paw, covered in a veritable explosion of colourful lucky symbols — sometimes you’ll spot a wooden Japanese chess piece with a kanji painted on it. This kanji is a mirrored image of the word for ‘horse’ (uma), which one is meant to read “backwards” or left to right. If one reads the syllables in reverse order, this becomes ‘ma-u’ or ‘dance,’ which everyone knows will attract good fortune. This seems like a rather convoluted excuse to make merry at a festival, but I suppose it’s one way of making your own luck. 

Frogs (kaeru) 

The word for ‘frog’ is ‘kaeru,’ which is a homophone for ‘to return.’ This can be interpreted to suggest a safe return from one’s travels, or for the return of good fortune and friends. Frogs are strongly associated with spring and summer; as the word promises, spring will always come around again. Most importantly, there’s a Japanese saying that goes, okane wa kaeru or money returns. Whether or not you believe that, there’s no harm in carrying around something with a frog on it to attract a little more wealth to your life. You’ll find one if you look: Frog-themed objects are pretty popular in Japan. 

Plovers (chidori)

A plover is a small migratory wading bird, known as ‘chidori’ in Japanese. The kanji means ‘a thousand birds’ as this bird tends to move in flocks, and also sounds like the phrase ‘to take a thousand.’ It also calls to mind another phrase, ‘sen no fuku wo toru,’ or to ‘take a thousand blessings.’ As such, the bird is often associated with luck, success, and victories. 

Plovers are often depicted in combination with wave motifs, since they appear near bodies of water like rivers and seas. Their perseverance and determination in facing these natural elements has led to them being associated with the ability to overcome life’s difficulties. 

Additionally, the plover lends its name to a geometric pattern called ‘chidorigōshi’ or ‘plovers’ lattice’. The twill lattice pattern — which also looks a little like houndstooth — appears to resemble rows of flying plovers, hence the name.    

Turnip (kabu)

Turnips are considered auspicious vegetables, thanks to the word being a homophone for ‘stocks’ (as in company shares). Since one’s stock should hopefully rise — ‘kabu ga agaru’ — the idea is that these root vegetables bring popularity and good fortune. Animal Crossing gamers may have noticed that the white turnips (kabu) can be sold on the Stalk Market. We love a pun that works across languages. 

Nandina (nanten)

Nandina is a flowering bush that bears red berries in winter. It is known as nanten in Japanese, and is also called heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo in English. Its association with good fortune stems from the phrase ‘nan o tenjiru’ or ‘to escape calamity/turn difficulties away.’ As such, it’s a popular New Year’s decoration — those vivid red berries bring to mind holly — and was popularly planted in gardens as a protective charm during the Edo period. It also appears as a pattern or motif on all kinds of objects. It was thought that if you planted nanten with the adonis flower (fukujusou), it would symbolise turning disaster into good fortune. 

Pea tie-dye (mameshibori) 

This polka dot-esque pattern of small, evenly-spaced dots was (and is) often seen on hand towels. In earlier times (around the Edo period) the dots would have been created through shibori tie-dyeing, resulting in more irregularly-shaped dots. These days, they’re stencilled or printed on fabric. ‘Mame’ means ‘peas’ or ‘beans,’ and also sounds like the words for ‘sturdy’ and ‘healthy.’ ‘Mame’ is also a way to refer to someone resilient and diligent. This is practically a cliche in the self-introductions for job interviews.

Nail-puller (kuginuki)

The repeating geometric kuginuki pattern takes its name from the tool used to pry the nails from under metal washers, but actually depicts the washers rather than the nails themselves. The phrase ‘kugi o nuku’ (to pull a nail) sounds rather like ‘ku o nuku’ (to remove suffering) and ‘kuki no nuku’ (to capture nine castles). As it signified the removal of obstacles, protection from evil and misfortune, and success in one’s endeavours,this pattern was a favourite with samurai for family crests, kimono, paintings, and more.

Written by Florentyna Leow