"Nakamura"　Dark Purple【Hand-dyed Tenugui】

"Nakamura"
This pattern is called “Nakamura Gōshi.”
Patterns that used writing in this way were popular in the world of Kabuki during the Edo period, around 1800 CE.
As a normal pattern would be dull, Kabuki actors thought of designs that contained puns on their own stage names and made yukata out of them. It appears that city dwellers too would wear a yukata of the same pattern as their favorite actor to go see Kabuki performances. Besides the Nakamura pattern, late Edo period Kabuki actor Uzaemon Ichimura XII wore a pattern called Ichimura Gōshi.
“Harimaya Gōshi” is the gōshi used by Kichiemon Nakamura, whose stage name was Harimaya...
There are many other patterns made with Kabuki actors’ puns of their stage names, like “Shikanjima,” “Kōrai Gōshi,” and “Rokuyata Gōshi.”
In this way, many designs came out of the late Edo period.
They are appealing designs that are still in use today. Not just the“Nakamura Gōshi,” but also designs like the “Kamawanu”.
This design was the pattern used by Kanzaburō Nakamura, and uses the Japanese characters for “naka” (中) and “ra” (ら). The place where the six lines are used represents the character for “mu” (六), as the number of lines in the pattern is similar to the character.
This spot where the “naka” and “ra” characters are not facing the same direction is considered an aspect of the design.