#yukiwa

Title: Winter wedding furisode

Date:About 1990s

We found this fun article from Manga De Japan that covers the meanings behind some of the more common and popular Japanese design motifs.  The descriptions are no doubt simplified from their deeper origins, but the overview is great.  Here’s a sampling:

seigaiha (overlapping waves) - tranquility uchiwa (folding fan) - prosperity shippo (overlapping circles) - good relationship chidori (plover) - acheivement tsuru (crane) - longevity uroko (scales) - ward off evil

The article is in four parts - give them a read through especially if you’ve got a Japanese kimono that includes a traditional motif.  

CLICK HERE  to go to the first article.  Enjoy!

Yukihime

I really liked this question, so I’ve been holding onto it until I had more time to answer it! Anonymous asked: “Hi! Could you tell us about rare kanzashi motifs, such as sunflowers and so on? Thanks!” As much as I love this question, it’s much harder to answer than most people may think. Often times only an image or two are known to exist of special maiko kanzashi, and many times the original image is either deleted or the source is lost. You can find many examples on Pintrest, but I absolutely refuse to use it as all of the images are stolen; that is, they’re not uploaded by the original owner nor do the vast majority (99%) actually link back to the original source. If you want to go on Pintrest and search around then be my guest, but I will not promote something that hurts many of my friends and promotes the image theft mentality that is so prevalent today. As a very quick and noticeable example, I can’t show you images of Toshikana’s beautiful sunflower kanzashi because they were uploaded onto Tumblr and Pintrest without the permission of the owner, Kind of Blue on Flickr, so KoB simply deleted it from their Flickr feed in an attempt to stop its unauthorized spread. When we do not respect the photographers and the owners of images we all lose out, so please don’t engage in hurtful activities for your own selfish and temporary pleasure. With that said, here are some of my favorite rare motifs:

Image courtesy of a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. March Hina Matsuri (雛祭) - Girl’s Day Dolls Worn by: Mameteru (まめ照) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu and Toshikana (とし夏菜) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho. A very unique entry as it’s worn during the entire month of March and not just on Girl’s Day (March 3rd). It features the main dolls that are found in each Hina Matsuri set: an emperor and an empress. They usually wear the traditional Heian Period clothing with long, flowing robes, but they’re simplified in this piece so as to not drown out of the flowers. Hina Matsuri dolls always sit on special platforms that usually have a checkered background and a small stage that usually features kamon (which you can see above). Surrounding the dolls are peach blossoms in pink and orange blossoms in white. Peach blossoms are very distinct in tsumami kanzashi as they have a unique petal fold that is not used with any other flower. 

Image courtesy of Kimono De Go. August Chidori To Nami (千鳥と波) - Plovers and Waves Worn by: Kotoha (琴葉) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu Easily one of the most famous maiko kanzashi of all time, it was sold by Meikoukai, who are very prominent kanzashi dealers located in Tokyo. It fuses tsumami zaiku with paper curling techniques to create a dynamic and memorable motif of plovers flying among waves. The plovers are actually mounted on springs too, so when the maiko moves it gives the effect that the birds are really flying! 

Image courtesy of Sakuchan. May - July Suzuran (鈴蘭) - Lily of The Valley Worn by: Katsutomo (佳つ智) of Odamoto (小田本) in Gion Kobu and Toshikana (とし夏菜) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho A beautiful piece that’s both elegant and very sparkly, lilies of the valley are among a rare few motifs that can be worn for more than one month at a time, and one of a handful of motifs that can be worn during the summer and all season divide. 

Image courtesy of Ikuokaya. January and February Yukiwa (雪輪) - Snowflakes Worn by: Mamesome (豆そめ) of Ninben (亻) in Gion Kobu This is a very special kanzashi as it breaks the norm of tsumami style kanzashi and features a very modern design of traditional Japanese and Western snowflakes. Like the plover kanzashi, the white metal snowflakes are all mounted on springs, so it looks very enchanting when worn!