When I first discovered Kanzashi, it was very difficult to find information on the web. I started this page as a way of gathering the information I had found and making it easily accessible for others. since then, much more information has become available. I will continue to update this page from time to time... but just surf around the web a bit and you will see lots of inspiration!
the example shown at the top of this page was my first attempt at folding these flower hair ornaments. you can see a few images of this in place in my hair in the gallery. because I had not had time to gather together the traditional supplies (I was too excited), I decided to try out the folding with paper. my first petal I folded was out of index card. I loved how easily and nicely it took the shape. so next I tried with some recycled book page (I am an altered book artist, after all!) and it didn't hold shape well at all. for the finished one shown, I backed the paper with tinfoil (with spray adhesive) to give it a little body. it worked wonderfully! I am going to be continuing to make some more of these out of paper even as I continue to learn to make them more traditionally in silk.
Maiko - Geisha in training. the Maiko are the ones who traditionally wear the Tsumami Kanzashi.
Geiko - a fully trained Geisha.
Tsumami - Pinching (refers to the method of folding the petals)
Kanzashi - Hair Ornament (both hana and metal or shell styles)
Hana - Flower
kusudama - Ball Hair Ornament
Bira Bira - the metal dangles in many Kanzashi. the name refers to the fluttering effect they produce.
ougi bira - the fan shaped metal kanzashi with dangling strips of metal, worn above the right temple. The mon of the maiko's okiya is designed into the metal.
Shidare - long chains of silk flowers
kisetsubana - these are the hana kanzashi (flower kanzashi) that change every month
ichidome - pin worn in the center of the bun for wareshinobu.
kanokodome - red silk frontal band tied in the hair.
arimachikanoko - red cloth woven through the bun in wareshinobu.
biradome - worn by maiko under 17 (or under 3 years of training) above the ougi bira kanzashi.
nezashi - kanzashi on right side of bun in wareshinobu consisting of silver leafs and jade and coral balls.
akadama/tama - the red ball kanzashi on the left side of bun for maiko; geiko wear the tama kanzashi on the right. This is exchanged for a green jade one in summer.
kushi - a comb. It can be wooden or lacquered for geiko, or covered in tsumami silk petals or thread for maiko. Geiko and maiko alike wear a tortoiseshell kushi with formal wear.
With hana kanzashi, the long fluttering flower is characteristic of maiko. These are created by Japanese artisans from tiny squares of silk by a technique known as tsumami. Each square is folded multiple times with the aid of tweazers and cut into a single petal. These are attached to backings of metal to create whole flowers, or attached to silken threads to create strings of blossom. Butterflies and birds are also common in this art form. Additional detailing of stamens is created by the use of mizuhiki, which is a strong thin twine made from washi paper, and is often coloured and used for decorative works.
Geisha wear different hana kanzashi according to the month, or public holiday. In the summer months (June to September), jade ornaments with white or silver themes are worn. During the winter months (October to May), tortoiseshell and coral kanzashi are worn.
The seasons dictate which kind of hair ornament is worn in Japan. Usually this applies above all to the geisha and maiko, who tend to be the only Japanese women to wear kanzashi often enough for seasonal changes to be noticeable. Since maiko wear more kanzashi than senior geisha, seasonal changes are even more important for them.
January - The design of January kanzashi differs from year to year, but usually has an auspicious Japanese New Year theme. Shouchikubai is a popular choice, a combination of pine (matsu), bamboo (take) and (ume) plum blossoms, (green, red and white) which are usually associated with celebrations.
February - Usually trailing deep pink, or sometimes red, (ume) plum blossoms, which are to be seen everywhere in Japan at this time and symbolize young love and the approach of spring. Another less common theme is the pinwheel.
March - Trailing yellow and white rape blossoms (nanohana) and butterflies, as well as peach blossoms (momo), narcissi (suisen), and peonies (botan).
April - Trailing soft pink cherry blossom (sakura) mixed with butterflies and bonbori lanterns, signaling the approach of summer. Cherry blossom viewing at this time of year is a major cultural event in Japan. Also, kanzashi consisting of a single silver (or sometimes gold) butterfly (cho) made of mizuhiki cord are common.
May - Trailing purple wisteria (fuji) and flag irises (ayame), usually of the blue variety. Irises denote the height of spring. Small silver butterflies also pop up as extra decorations in May.
June - Trailing green willow (yanagi) leaves with pinks, or less commonly hydrangea (ajisai) flowers. Willow is a traditional image associated with geisha. This month is the rainy season in Japan, and therefore willow (a water-loving tree) and the washy blue of hydrangea are appropriate.
July - Kanzashi featuring a display of fans. These will usually be of the round uchiwa variety, but occasionally folding dancing fans are also featured. The fans refer to the Gion Festival which takes place at this time, a huge event held at the Gion geisha district in Kyoto, which involves hundreds of traditional dances by geisha. Fans are a staple component of traditional Japanese dance. The fans featured in a maiko's July kanzashi vary each year, in line with the Festival. There are common themes such as dragonflies and lines denoting swirling water. Other kanzashi worn during July are the fireworks kanzashi and tsuyushiba (dewdrops on grass).
August - Purple morning glory (asagao) or susuki grass. The susuki grass appears as a starburst of spines. Senior maiko wear silver-white and junior maiko wear pink or red.
September - Japanese bellflower (kikyo). The purple tones are traditionally associated with autumn. Often these will be mixed with the other autumn flowers: bush clover, patrinia, chrysanthemum, Japanese boneset, kudzu, and pinks.
October - Chrysanthemum (kiku). These are well-loved in Japan, and are a symbol of the Imperial Family. Usually the chrysanthemums featured are red and white, a combination which signals the height of autumn.
November - Trailing autumnal leaves. These may be a generic yellow leaf or the characteristic red maple leaf. Maple viewing is the autumnal equivalent in Japan of cherry blossom viewing. Ginkgo and liquidambar leaves are also employed.
December - The Japanese make mochi at this time of year, and often decorate trees with them to represent white flowers. It is thought to be good luck to wear kanzashi featuring mochibana, or rice-cake flowers. December kanzashi also feature two maneki, which are tiny blank tags. Traditionally maiko visit the Minamiza Theatre and ask two of their favourite Kabuki actors to autograph them with their Kabuki nom de plume. Some December kanzashi also include bamboo leaves.
New Year - At this time of year all maiko and geiko wear unhusked rice ears on the right side of their coiffure. These kanzashi also feature eyeless white doves. The maiko and geisha fill in one eye and ask somebody they like to draw the other.
there are some very detailed videos of master Japanese craftsmen making Kanzashi put out by the Tokyo Board of Tourism... unfortunatly, the videos are all in Japanese. they are detailed enough to give you a good sense of how it's done though. these are a must see if you would like to learn how to do Kanzashi. these videos are no longer available at the original site... but they are up on youtube!
ok, I just learned how to embed a youtube playlist hereso, here ya go... the best kanzashi tutorial videos I can find!
Ingredients: 1 cup rice, 1/4 cup salt, 3-4 (or more) cups water.
Directions: Combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Check the rice - it should be looking almost like oatmeal (very small lumps left). If it's more discernably rice, add water and cook longer. When it looks almost like oatmeal, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Blend in a blender (or you can put it through a sieve to remove the larger rice peices. You may need to add more water to get it to blend all the way.
Store in the refridgerator.
this produces a very slow drying glue that is very hard and nearly invisible when dry. it will also prevent the petal edges from fraying if they extend beyound your flower base.
Nori Paste is a premixed paste made from seaweed. it is an excelent substitute for the rice paste, if you prefer the conveinence. if you leave the top off your jar of Nori for a little while, it will thicken up a bit and then hold the petals in place just like in the videos.
useing craft wire, create some small loops at the bottoms of the kanzashi to which you can attach decorative string.
Thread the decorative string through the metal loop. Create a loop with the string by glueing the tip to the remaining length. This will attach to the string to the rest of the kanzashi.
The "layers" are made from two petals glued together. Once you have all these sets of petals made Glue them to the decorative string that you have hanging from the kanzashi.
It's best to do this while the string is hanging down on its own from a table top. This will make sure that the petals are all facing the same direction when held up.
Finish off the bottom of the string by looping it through a decorative bell similar to how you looped it through the wire at the top.
To combat freying fabric coat cut edges with a light layer of glue.
starched fabric will hold its shape better. don't be afraid to starch the heck out of your fabric before you cut into it. make sure to iron it after starching.
a rotary cutter and a quilting ruler will help get more acurate squares of fabric
lighter fabrics like silk and cottons are easier to work with. traditionally, a light weight silk is used. 5mm silk works great. 8mm is just a little more substantial.
