Shippō七宝

seven treasures

Circles overlapping by a quarter, running on forever. The seven treasures of Buddhist scripture — gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, agate, coral, carnelian, though the lists disagree. The reason it means connection is a pun: en (円), a circle, sounds exactly like en (縁), a fated bond between people. So the unbroken circles say that human ties are worth as much as the treasures. It's a wedding and housewarming pattern, and it's also the word for cloisonné.

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 Shippō
• Subtitle 七宝
• Means seven treasures
• First use Edo period
• Signifies enduring human connection
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