The gentian blooms with sweet bluish-purple flowers in autumn. Because these blossoms open upward and outward, they are an auspicious motif symbolizing ascension and advance. The traditional name for this motif, “bamboo gentian” (sasa-rindo), comes from a resemblance seen between the plant’s leaves and those of bamboo. The Japanese word for gentian can also be written using a Chinese character meaning “dragon,” and so it is also said to resemble a dragon, symbolic of keeping evil influences at bay. The gentian appears in Japanese poetry from the first imperial anthology, the Kokinshu, as well as works like the Tale of Genji and the Pillow Book. It was also adopted as the crest of the Genji branch family that founded the Kamakura Shogunate, and is still used in the City of Kamakura’s official seal. The flower thus also represents AWAI's affection for Kamakura, a city to which it is deeply linked. Placed right in the middle of the fabric, this motif skillfully harmonizes the bold warrior character with the delicacy of the flowers. Ideal as an interior furnishing to express attachment to Kamakura, or hopes of future rising.
Color: Sky blue
With blue thread woven through white, this fabric expresses the soft colors of sky and water. The gentian's flowers are drawn in two shades of hanada blue, a hue with just a hint of green, while the bamboo-like leaves are traced in gold and silver leaf.
Size: 192cm×33cm
