10 free Japanese-style background patterns

My overview of ten beautiful Japanese fonts and the Japanese colour names cheat sheet are the two most popular articles on this blog and so I naturally started to think about the next Japan and design-related topic to cover.

One thing there’s never enough of is background patterns. Used everywhere—from web design to print and ID—seamless patterns reminiscent of wallpapers and ancient frescoes always come in handy.

After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that there are very few Japan-inspired patterns available on the internet. This really surprised me, as patterns have a long history in Japanese fashion, architecture, and even contemporary art.

Presented below are ten free Japanese background patterns which you can use in your designs. If you do decide to use one, a credit link to this article is greatly appreciated.

Seikaiha

Takeda-bishi

Sayagata

Sippo-tsunagi

Seikaiha 2

Maru-tsunagi

Asanoha

Kasane-kikko-ni-wa

Fundo-tsunagi

Yoshiwara-tsunagi

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