From Susan L, Nebraska: Looking through the Japanese books made me curious about some of the recurring Japanese motifs and what they mean.  The book "The Techniques of Japanese Embroidery" by Shuji Tamura has some interesting information concerning them.
    One of the motifs I have had a hard time understanding is the turtle with the green flowing stuff coming off it's back side. This book mentions that the tortoise shares with the crane the quality of longevity, possibly because it's life span is so long, streaming moss sometimes grows from it's shell.  It also mentioned that it is generally depicted in stylized form by the hexagon, either as an all over pattern or in lone or grouped motifs.
        The crane is mentioned as the most popular bird, representing a wish for longevity.  The crane ( as with other birds) carries seeds within its body and is thus considered to bring new life.
        Plums, pines and bamboo (the 3 friends of winter) appear together as auspicious symbols and often go by their Chinese name sho-chiku-bai.  The pine and the bamboo symbolize endurance, since they remain green all winter.  The unchanging appearance of the pine brings a feeling of good luck and happiness.  It is also a symbol of longevity because of it's long life.  Since bamboo grows quickly to its full  height, it is considered to be full of strength, indicating nobility, purity, honesty, and serious character.  The plum which blooms while there is still snow, symbolizes new hope and since an old tree still produces blooms, it too stands for longevity.
        Ferns, because of their many spores, suggest a wish for prosperity.  Fans because of their broadening size, a which for increase.  The flax-leaf pattern expresses parental hopes that children will grow straight and tall.  Overlapping diamonds stand for pine bark.  The cross is a symbol of expansiveness.  Overlapping circles  also symbolize expansiveness.
        The carp represents strength and perseverance.  In the time before paved roads only members of the imperial court could use wheeled conveyances so depiction of an imperial cart in an embroidery raises it to a high level of dignity. Since some of the temari have wheels on them I assume they would have the same meaning.  One motif that
appears often in the temari that has  also been puzzling me  is one that appears along with fans in some of the designs.  It looks like to pieces of sticks with a tie near one end.The only possible clue that I found in the book was the legend of the ' Old Couple of Takasago' who were given the care of the pine forest.  Every night she would sweep out the old needles, representing bad luck and he would rake in the good luck.  Even when the couple are not shown the rake and the broom convey the essence o this story and carry a wish for marital happiness.  Could this motif represent the broom?

        There is also a paragraph in the book that I will quote because I think it could apply to the embroidery done on temari as well as other types of Japanese embroidery: "In the word nui-do, nui means  embroidery, and do means way.  There are three aspects of nui-do:  The acquisition of technical skills and knowledge, the development of the sensitivity and awareness, and the constant spiritual components of the art of embroidery, resulting in an attitude of peace, calm, and harmony.    Great skill alone, that is only the technical part, does not produce art." (The Techniques of Japanese Embroidery" by Shuji Tamura)

        So,  next time someone complains that you're spending too much time working on your temari tell them that you are working on developing the qualities of peacefulness, calmness and harmony, sensitivity and awareness!.

        I know that for Boy's Day (May 5th), one of the symbols given to celebrate the occasion is a white arrow (decorated with bells, purple cord and auspicious writings). Your research on the motifs bears out much of the ancient beliefs and wishes of the Japanese.  Remember, Japan was a closed country until the turn of the century - 1900.  That helped to keep much of the traditions and superstitions in their "pure" form.  Like much of the rest of the world in "ancient" times, the high rate of mortality in childhood took a toll on the population.  The Shichi-go-san (7-5-3 festival in
October) celebrates those children who have reached that age during the year.  If you were lucky enough to survive until the age of 7, then you would probably grow to reach adulthood.  That too, is celebrated in January with "coming of age" day, for those who reached the age of 20 during the previous 12 months.

    Of the motifs you have mentioned, you will frequently find cranes and turtles on cards, or gifts used for births, marriage, and other "yearly" events.  The bamboo, pine and plum are frequently seen on everything from lacquered dishes to kimono, and yukata.  Sakura - cherry blossoms are also representative of the fleeting beauty of life - a good reminder to treasure the moment.  The wheeled cart can frequently be found as part of the decoration on a wedding kimono, or in an even more concrete form as a miniature wheeled cart holding a vase of flowers on a table in a home or restaurant. One of the signs of royalty was a flat stick-like object with long multi-colored ribbons on the end.  You will often see it as part of the costume for a wedding, or used in Hina-dolls.  You can't go wrong with any type of crane or turtle design for a birth (especially in red (note: the red used should try to be a "Chinese" Red - almost on the orange side, not a "Christmas" red) and white).  Weddings use cranes, pine, and  bamboo.  Oddly, anniversaries are not really observed like they are in the US, although any of the above would be most suitable, if one is searching for a symbol.     (The reason I know about the anniversaries is that when our Women's Society decided to gather birthdays and anniversaries from it's board members for the Sunshine Chairperson, many of the Japanese members either didn't know their anniversary date, or appeared shocked, embarrassed, shy, withdrawn, - as if some sort of privacy line had been crossed.)