kikkamon　菊花文

KEY WORD :　architecture / roofing tiles

A stylized chrysanthemum pattern derived from the imperial crest used on the pendant *gatou 瓦当, of semi-circular convex tiles or as a band of small tiles called *irakagawara 甍瓦, that have the pendant, decorated with a chrysanthemum motif. The earliest known kikkamon pendants date from the Momoyama period and were unearthed at the site of Fushimijou 伏見城 in Kyoto. Another was unearthed in Kyoto. Some fine examples were also found in Ootsu 大津 in Shiga prefecture. The number found during the Edo period increased. A few in Kyoto in Higashiyama 東山 were excavated from Kiyomizudera 清水寺. This motif was used widely without restriction during Edo period on the built up tiles above the ridges of various buildings, but after 1868, its use was strictly controlled from the time of the Meiji Restoration because the pattern was used for the crest of the Emperor. One such example was unearthed at the site of the Sentou Gosho 仙洞御所 in Kyoto, and dates from the Edo period. The rims on these tiles are broad and undecorated.

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*kikugawara 菊瓦

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NOTES:

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