Bishamon Kikkō毘沙門亀甲

Bishamonten's tortoiseshell

Kikkō is the tortoise shell, abstracted to a hexagon — from China via the Silk Road, in Japan by the Nara period. The tortoise means long life: cranes live a thousand years, tortoises ten thousand. This variant links three hexagons and drops their inner lines, and it's named for the armour of Bishamonten, guardian of the north and one of the seven gods of fortune. The Tōbatsu Bishamonten at Tōji — the one who guarded the Heian capital — wears it. A shell protects a tortoise; armour protects a warrior. Same idea.

Most people who make one of these go dark: near-black ink on black is the most-used palette on the site, because a wallpaper that recedes leaves your icons legible. It looks nothing like the bright version below — which is rather the point of being able to pick.

At a glance

• Pattern Bishamon Kikkō
• Subtitle 毘沙門亀甲
• Means Bishamonten's tortoiseshell
• First use Nara period
• Signifies longevity and protection
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