budō karakusamon 葡萄唐草文

Also abbreviated to *budō karakusa 葡萄唐草. A grape-patterned arabesque used on the pendant *gatō 瓦当 of a broad concave eave end tile *nokihiragawara 軒平瓦. Tiles with this motif are found on buildings at Okadera 岡寺 in Nara and its vicinity. The grapevine motif is found in ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East. It reached China and was first used during the Northern Wei dynasty (Jp: Hokugi 北魏) in caves at Yungang (Jp: Unkō 雲崗) and Longmen (Jp: Ryūmon 龍門). During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was widely used at Chang'an (Jp: Chōan 長安). In Korea it was used as a tile pattern during the Unified Silla period (Jp: Tōitsu Shiragi 統一新羅). Tiles with a grapevine motif can be dated to the late 7th century. There are four slightly different renderings of the pattern: three found at Okadera and one at Jikōji 慈光寺 ruins, both in Nara. Across the upper face of each tile, there is a zigzag motif *kyoshimon 鋸歯文, *inazumamon 稲妻文, separated from the grapevine pattern by a high ridge.