Designer's Guide to Samurai Patterns

by Jeanne Allen

Fourth in the bestselling Designer's Guide to Japanese Patterns series, Samurai Patterns evokes the spirit of Japan's legendary warrior class. Conscious of style even as they prepared for battle, the samurai embellished their armor, helmets, and swords with the finest Japanese craftsmanship. Members of this colorful fraternity of fighters embodied heroic virtue and a love of ideals while seeking to achieve a balance between the bu (the martial arts including archery, swordsmanship, hunting, and falconry) and bun (the cultivated arts of the tea ceremony, calligraphy, poetry composition, and lower arrangement). Although bushido (the way of the warrior) was a seemingly contradictory code, the merging of the fierce and the fine is precisely what made the samurai the most enduring character in Japanese history. Their graphic patterns continue to be a source of inspiration to modern-day commercial artists and designers, as well as anyone with an interest in Japanese art and culture.

132 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990