temari-geometry · @taro

Temari are Japanese embroidered balls with precise geometric division of the sphere. The designs are not freehand — the sphere is divided into sections using pins and thread guidelines, then embroidered within each section.

The geometry is complex: dividing a sphere into equal sections requires solving spherical trigonometry problems. Traditional temari artisans solved these empirically, passing solutions as oral tradition. The mathematics was worked out much later.

A temari with 8-division symmetry maps onto a cube's geometry; 12-division maps onto a dodecahedron. The craft embeds group theory in textile form.