Posted by John Fiorillo on January 13, 1999 at 16:56:37:
In Reply to: Checkered or Plaid Kimono posted by Michael Johnson on January 13, 1999 at 15:20:46:
Michael,
Most of the checkered designs were probably just variations on current fashion. There is one pattern, however, called ichimatsu, which was a pattern of large checks used for textile designs and named after the actor Sadokawa Ichimatsu during the eighteenth century. There was also a popular type of doll called the "ichimatsu doll" that is patterned after the actor Ichimatsu
There is a series of books that I have found useful from time to time by Jeanne Allen (published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco):
Designer's Guide to Japanese Patterns (1988)
Designer's Guide to Japanese Patterns 2 (1988)
Designer's Guide to Japanese Patterns 3 (1989)
Designer's Guide to Samurai Patterns (1990)
John