A goddess in the form of a wolf

Okami was released in 2006 by Capcom's Clover Studio, directed by Hideki Kamiya, and it remains one of the most beautiful games ever made. Players are Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, who returns to the world in the form of a white wolf to restore a land called Nippon, drained of color by the eight-headed serpent Orochi and his darkness. As she brings life back, the world blooms: grass, trees and flowers spring up wherever she runs.

Its sumi-e ink-wash style makes it one of the most painterly games ever made, and that brushwork looks beautiful printed on a rug.

Okami looks like a living Japanese painting, drawn in the style of sumi-e ink-wash and ukiyo-e woodblock prints, with heavy brush outlines and paper-textured skies. That makes it a rare game whose art suits almost any room. An Okami rug is an artwork as much as a fan item. Ours are printed into short velvet, so ink lines, soft washes of color and the white of Amaterasu's fur come out beautifully, and they go in the washing machine.

Amaterasu

Amaterasu, a white wolf marked with flowing red patterns and carrying a divine reflector on her back, is one of the most elegant characters in gaming. Gentle, playful and powerful, she's loved by everyone who meets her. An Amaterasu design, running across a sumi-e landscape or sitting beneath a blossoming tree, is the signature Okami rug, and it reads as fine Japanese art to anyone who has never played.

Sumi-e and ukiyo-e

Okami's look comes from two great Japanese art traditions. Sumi-e is ink-wash painting, black ink brushed onto paper in confident strokes, with washes of gray and soft color. Ukiyo-e is the woodblock-print style of artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige, with bold outlines, flat color and stylized waves and clouds. An Okami rug in either style suits a Japanese-inspired or Japandi room perfectly, with low wooden furniture, paper lamps, linen and plenty of empty space.

The Celestial Brush

Amaterasu's power comes from the Celestial Brush: the world freezes into a sheet of paper and the player paints strokes on screen to work miracles. A circle in the sky brings the sun back; a slash cuts through enemies; a dot becomes a bomb; a line becomes a bridge. It's one of the most original ideas in gaming. A brush-stroke design, bold black ink strokes across cream, is an abstract, artistic rug that would be at home in a gallery, and a meaningful one for fans.

Blooming cherry blossoms

When Amaterasu restores a guardian sapling, the world bursts back to life in a wave of color, and cherry trees explode into pink blossom. Those moments are some of the most joyful in gaming. A cherry blossom design, pink petals and dark branches on a pale ground, is a beautiful, springtime rug for a bedroom or living room, and it suits anyone who loves Japanese florals. Our botanical rugs share the same spirit.

The Konohana tree

The great Konohana tree above Kamiki Village, home of the wood sprite Sakuya, is the first tree Amaterasu restores, and its blossoming is the moment the game's magic first becomes clear. A Konohana design, the vast tree in bloom over a small village, is a calm, meaningful rug that suits a study or a reading corner.

Issun

Issun, a tiny wandering artist who rides on Amaterasu's head, is loud, flirtatious and quick to call himself a genius, and he's the comic heart of the game. He's so small he appears as a glowing green speck. A design that hides Issun somewhere in a larger landscape is a playful inside joke for fans, who will always look for him.

Feeding the animals

One of Okami's gentlest pleasures is feeding animals: rabbits, dogs, sparrows, boars and monkeys appear across Nippon, and Amaterasu can feed each one to earn Praise, the energy of gratitude that makes her stronger. A design of Amaterasu among the small animals of a meadow is a sweet, cheerful rug for a child's room, and a lovely reminder of the game's kindness.

Divine instruments

Amaterasu fights with divine instruments carried on her back: reflectors like round shields of light, prayer-bead rosaries that whip through the air, and long glaives. The reflector, a glowing disc ringed with flames, is especially iconic, and on a round rug it makes a striking, sun-like emblem.

The brush gods

Amaterasu learns her brush techniques from the brush gods, celestial beings who take the forms of animals from the Chinese zodiac: a rat, a monkey, a dragon, a tiger and more, appearing as constellations in the sky. A brush-god design, a constellation forming an animal across a night sky, is an elegant, celestial rug for a bedroom, and our celestial rugs pair well with it.

Orochi and the demons

Okami's villain, Orochi, is an eight-headed serpent drawn from Japanese mythology, each head breathing a different element. The game's demons, painted in bold ukiyo-e style with masks and red-and-black designs, are striking in their own right. An Orochi design, coiled heads against a dark, stormy sky, is a dramatic rug for a game room.

Nippon's landscapes

Okami's world is drawn from classical Japan: Kamiki Village and its rice fields, Shinshu Field's rolling hills, the Moon Cave, the bustling port city of Sei-an and the snowy north. Each scene looks like a scroll painting. A landscape rug, misty mountains, a red bridge over a river, a pagoda among pines, is one of the calmest, most universal Okami designs.

The music

Okami's soundtrack, built on traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi, koto and taiko alongside an orchestra, is as celebrated as its art. Its final battle theme, "The Sun Rises", is one of the most emotional pieces in any game. An Okami rug in a music corner, beside a koto or a record player, is a quiet tribute.

Clover Studio

Clover Studio, the team inside Capcom that made Okami, closed not long after its release, and many of its developers went on to found PlatinumGames, makers of Bayonetta and NieR: Automata. That history gives Okami a bittersweet place in gaming, a masterpiece from a studio that didn't last, and part of why its fans treasure it so much.

The sequels and the future

Okami has been re-released many times, on the Wii with motion-controlled brush strokes and in HD for modern consoles, and a handheld follow-up, Ōkamiden, followed on the DS. In 2024, Hideki Kamiya announced that a long-awaited sequel is in development, delighting fans who have waited nearly two decades.

Japanese-inspired rooms

An Okami rug is perfect for a room inspired by Japanese design. Pair it with a low wooden table, floor cushions, a paper lantern, a small bonsai or ikebana arrangement and a calligraphy print. Keep the palette natural, cream, charcoal, wood and a touch of red, and let the rug's brushwork be the focal point. Our zen and spiritual rugs suit the same calm style.

Wolves and nature

Amaterasu's gentle bond with nature makes Okami a natural companion to other nature-loving stories. Fans often also love Princess Mononoke, with its own wolf gods, and Ghost of Tsushima, with its painted fields.

A gaming setup

Under the gaming chair, choose Standard in 3.3×5 or 4×6 ft: its 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back lets wheels roll freely and stays put. An Okami rug brings an artistic calm to a gaming room that most game art can't. See our gaming rugs for more.

Your own brushwork

If you paint or practice calligraphy, your own ink artwork can become a rug too. Our custom rugs print any design in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′.

Colors and rooms

Okami's palette is ink black and paper cream, with Amaterasu's white and red, cherry-blossom pink, soft greens and the gold of the sun. It's elegant, restrained and easy to place in almost any room, especially one with natural wood and linen.

Sizes and levels

Amaterasu's reflector, a brush-stroke circle or a cherry blossom branch suits a 3.3 to 4.6 ft (100 to 140 cm) round rug. Amaterasu running across a landscape, the Konohana tree or Orochi suits a rectangle, 4×6 or 5×7 ft. For a living room or bedroom, choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back.

Gifts

An Okami rug is a thoughtful gift for a fan of the game, a lover of Japanese art or anyone who appreciates beautiful design. If you aren't sure which design to choose, Amaterasu among cherry blossoms is the safest. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes. The design is printed into the fibers, so the ink stays black and the blossoms stay pink for years.

A note on the game

Wolves as guardians in Japan

Amaterasu's wolf form draws on real Japanese belief. Wolves were once revered as messengers and protectors in parts of Japan, and some mountain shrines, such as Mitsumine in Saitama, keep wolf statues as guardians in place of the usual fox or lion-dog. The Japanese wolf itself is thought to have died out in the early 20th century. A rug of a pair of stone wolf guardians at a shrine gate, in soft gray and moss green, carries that history quietly.

Padrift is an independent studio. Okami and its characters are named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Capcom.