sōmon 藻文

A fishnet-like design used to adorn the base of a Buddhist sculpture. The character 藻 (also read mo) means duckweed or seaweed. The design is a variation of the *karakusamon 唐草文, an arabesque-like design derived from stylized Chinese grasses. 

The sōmon often appears in sections of the *rengeza 蓮華座 (lotus pedestal), for example on the bulging sphere in the narrow middle section *shikinasu 敷茄子; the flower platter *keban 華盤; and the ring of lotus petals turned down *kaeribana 反花. An example is found on the base of the 8th-century Yakushi nyorai-zō 薬師如来像 in Hōryūji Saiendō 法隆寺西円堂, Nara.