Common Motifs: Tsuzumi - Hand Drums

You may not know the instrument "tsuzumi" 鼓 but you'd recognize the sound the moment you heard one (check out a video of the small "ko-tsuzumi" 小鼓 being played here, and its big brother "oh-tsuzumi" 大鼓 here). Both are traditional Japanese types of drums and, as far as I know, are a year-round motif for textiles and can be found on a variety of pieces. You might find either the three-quarter view or head-on one, but both will show the circle of the drum and its cords. Below is an example of a ko-tsuzumi, followed by a Nagoya obi, and details of a komon and haori.

All fabric photos copyright Ichiroya and used with permission. Tsuzumi photograph courtesy of Wikimedia.