1.
checkerboard pattern; checkered pattern
A pattern of squares of two alternating colors, like a chessboard. Used on kimono cloth, floor tiles, wrapping paper, and design work generally.
市松模様の床。
A checkerboard-patterned floor.
市松模様の着物を着た女性が歩いていた。
A woman in a checkered kimono was walking by.
東京オリンピックのエンブレムには藍色の市松模様が使われ、日本らしい意匠だと話題になった。
The Tokyo Olympics emblem used an indigo checkerboard pattern, and it drew attention as a distinctly Japanese design.
Formed from 市松 + 模様 (pattern). The name comes from the Edo-period kabuki actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu, who wore hakama in this pattern on stage and made it fashionable.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 市松模様の布: checkered cloth
- 市松模様に並べる: to arrange in a checkerboard pattern
- 白黒の市松模様: a black-and-white checkerboard pattern
SIMILAR WORDS:
- チェック: check, plaid — the loanword, used mainly for woven cloth patterns with crossing lines
- 縞模様: stripe pattern — parallel lines rather than alternating squares