The Story of the Arrow and the Turtle
Or
How to Translate Mitsubane Kikkou Kagari for Temari
Mitsubane = this word has been translated several different ways.
Mitsu definitely means 3. Bane is a form of hane. It changes spelling
because it's behind the counter mitsu. Hane means feather. It also
means wing. One time I went to Birmingham, Ala, to a temari stitch
in. Our host invited a Japanese guy who was living in Birmingham
and studying for his PhD in math. I asked him about the meaning of
this term. Told him I though it meant triwing. That is what Mary
Woods calls it in her book. He said no, not really. This is a special
word that to a Japanese person brings to mind the arrangement of
the three feathers on the end of an arrow. Not just any 3 wings or
feathers. They should all be pointing in towards the center and arranged
symmetrically out from the center. Well, this guy was a mathematician
and I thought his explanation outstanding! Not wings but feathers.
Not "tri" but three. A visual of the design as well
as a little bit of Japanese culture (the importance of the arrow).
kikkou - He also told me this means tortoise shell hexagon shape although
there is a different word for tortoise shell in my dictionary. And a totally
different word for turtle or tortoise. The hexagon shape that forms in
the middle of this stitch design is often used in Japanese art, clothing,
etc, to represent the turtle or tortoise. So this makes sense.
kagari - means stitching.
So, where are we?
Mary Woods was the only author of an English temari book to refer to this
term. She selected triwing with hexagon (to mean the layered version) and
triwing without hexagon (to mean the interlocked version).
The deadline loomed for my book. What was I to do? I had badgered my friends
and students so much about terminology that I'm sure they were thinking
ENOUGH ALREADY! But I needed to come to a happy place for me with this
term. I was so impressed with the mathematician's explanation. But I could
not call the stitch "three feathers like on the end of an arrow and
hexagon tortoise shell stitching"!!! I did not feel like Mary Woods
term triwing with or with hexagon reflected the symbolism and the story
behind the design. I love symbolism and stories because they help me remember
how to do the stitching.
Finally, I asked my husband. I drew it on a piece of paper and said "what
is this?" He said - that's a trefoil. I looked it up and surely enough,
it is a trefoil shape. Many stitchers were already using this term trefoil.
Others used triwing or a variation of triwing. Most people just did not
talk about it. They just stitched it. A classroom full of students voted
for trefoil. So I used trefoil in my book.
A few years passed.
Happy stitching, teaching, and learning years.
I notice now that many people are preferring to say simply triwing for
this design. I notice that I, too, am liking the term triwing. No hyphen.
No hexagon mentioned. No feathers, arrows or turtles mentioned.
Terminology evolves, that's for sure. What will you call it? I don’t
recommend using the Japanese words unless you are fluent. I lived there
long enough to know how much trouble one can get into through mispronunciation!