Fukura Suzume (round and puffy sparrow) pattern

The sparrow is often seen on kimono from the Edo period (1603-1867). It is regarded as a symbol of personal prosperity, clan prosperity, rich fruit crops and said to be auspicious. The ‘Fukura Suzume’ (round and puffy Sparrow) incorporated in this pattern was particularly popular in the late Edo era (1780-1867). ‘Fukura’ means ‘to expand’ and coupled with the auspicious sparrow, leads to the overall meaning of "good things will expand". This is why there are many sparrows in family crests. This is one of around 400 Japanese katagami stencils which are part of the Silver Studio Collection. The stencils were produced in Japan as a way of applying patterns to fabric, mainly kimonos. The katagami collected by the Silver Studio were used by their designers as reference material to produce their own Japanese-inspired patterns.