Kanzashi: The Hairpin That Tells the Season

Not One Thing, but a Family: Types of Kanzashi

Kanzashi is the general name for hair ornaments, not one specific thing: the word covers dozens of different objects, from a simple straight pin to a complex construction with pendants. They are made from wood, metal, tortoiseshell, and silk, and the form depends on who wears them and for what occasion.

• Flat and straight pins — the simplest and oldest type, often made of lacquered wood or metal.
• Kanzashi with a bead on the end (tama-kanzashi) — a bead of glass, coral, or another material on the tip of a long pin.
• Bira-bira — kanzashi with dangling pendants that sway and jingle with every step; they are worn mainly by maiko.
• Floral silk kanzashi — flowers and leaves are folded from small squares of fabric using the tsumami zaiku technique.

One Word — but Fashion Changed More Than Once Over Four Centuries

The variety of types did not appear at once: complex multi-part hairstyles, which required several types of pins at once, came into fashion in the middle of the Edo period. Before that, hairstyles were simpler, and one or two pins were enough to keep the hair gathered.

Tsumami Zaiku and the Calendar of Flowers in the Hair

The tsumami zaiku technique (つまみ細工), used to make silk floral kanzashi, appeared in the early Edo period in Kyoto: court ladies of the imperial palace folded petals from scraps of kimono lining with tweezers, like origami. Thin habutae silk is cut into small squares, each is folded with tweezers into a petal — using the soft "maru tsumami" method or the sharper "kado tsumami" — and from the finished petals a flower or bird is assembled. Later the technique moved to the city of Edo and there developed into its own craft, which since 1982 has been considered a traditional craft of Tokyo.

• January — pine, bamboo, and plum (松竹梅, shōchikubai), a New Year set, and in the first days of the year — rice ears and a dove.
• April — branches of blooming cherry blossoms, the most recognizable spring set.
• August — plumes of silvergrass: the silvery grass reminds of autumn, although Kyoto is still hot in August.

A Hairstyle That Runs Ahead of the Calendar

For maiko in Kyoto, the set of kanzashi changes every month, and the flower in the hair names the season more precisely than a calendar. The peculiarity is that the motifs traditionally run a step ahead of the actual weather. The August silvergrass reminds of autumn a month and a half before it actually begins — that is the custom in the Kyoto geisha district, not an artist's mistake.

From the Geisha District to the Wedding Attire: Who Wears Kanzashi Today

Today kanzashi are most strongly associated with maiko and geiko: maiko have noticeably more ornaments in their hair, geiko have more restrained and fewer, but both wear them every day, not only for performances. Outside the geisha district, kanzashi are worn by brides in wedding attire, girls at the Coming of Age ceremony in January, and anyone dressing up in yukata for summer festivals — usually simpler kanzashi, without pendants.

• Maiko and geiko — in the geisha districts of Kyoto and other cities, every day, not only on stage.
• Brides — in traditional wedding attire, along with a complex hairstyle.
• Girls at the Coming of Age ceremony — in January, along with a bright furisode kimono.
• Summer festivals — simple kanzashi are worn with yukata, without complex pendants.

The Legend of the Weapon-Pin

There is a popular story about kanzashi that in old times a sharp pin was also worn as a weapon for self-defense. The word itself, according to one dictionary version, goes back to "kamizashi" — "that which is stuck into the hair" — and in ancient times a single sharpened rod in the hair was considered a charm against evil spirits, not a weapon. Similar sharp pins were indeed used for self-defense in certain traditions, for example in Okinawan martial arts, but the image of a geisha fighting off an attacker with a kanzashi is closer to a popular story than to a documented fact.

簪 — A Rare Character with Bamboo at Its Base

簪 — значение: hairpin, kanzashi, hair ornament — онъёми: シン、サン — кунъёми: かんざし — 20 штрих(ов). 簪 — a rare character, but with a direct kun reading "kanzashi": at the top it has the radical 竹 "bamboo," because the simplest pins were cut precisely from bamboo and wood.

The on readings are サン (san) and シン (shin), the kun reading is directly "かんざし" (kanzashi): a rare case where a whole kanji is assigned not a short syllable reading but a three-syllable word. The radical at the top, 竹, "bamboo," has almost lost its decorative meaning in modern kanzashi: today they are made from wood, metal, and silk more often than from bamboo, but historically the simplest pins were cut precisely from it.

The Radical Remains Even When the Material Changes

This happens with kanji not only for 簪: the radical fixes not the current material of the object but the one from which it was originally or most often made. Kanzashi made of metal or plastic are still written with the same character with the bamboo radical — the form of the kanji does not change with fashion.

Write 簪 along the guides — a rare character that in its kun reading is read entirely as "kanzashi."

FAQ

What is kanzashi?

Kanzashi is the general name for Japanese hair ornaments: the word covers both a simple straight pin and a complex construction with pendants. They are made from wood, metal, tortoiseshell, and silk, and which type to wear depends on the occasion and the status of the wearer.

What are kanzashi made from?

Materials vary: lacquered wood and metal for simple pins, tortoiseshell for combs and more expensive ornaments, and thin silk for floral kanzashi, which are folded using the tsumami zaiku technique from small squares of fabric. The radical 竹 "bamboo" in the character 簪 itself reminds us that the oldest and simplest pins were cut precisely from bamboo.

Why do kanzashi change with the seasons?

For maiko in Kyoto, the set of kanzashi is prescribed by month: pine and plum in January, cherry blossoms in April, silvergrass plumes in August — and by the flower in the hair you can tell the season more precisely than by a calendar. The motifs traditionally run a step ahead of the actual weather — that is the custom in the geisha district, not a mistake.

Who wears kanzashi today?

Kanzashi are worn every day by maiko and geiko in the geisha districts. Outside this environment, they are worn by brides in wedding attire, girls at the Coming of Age ceremony in January, and anyone dressing up in yukata for summer festivals — usually simpler kanzashi, without pendants.

Is it true that kanzashi were used as weapons?

As a separate story — yes, but how much it applies specifically to geisha and maiko is hard to say. The word itself, according to one version, goes back to "that which is stuck into the hair" as a charm against evil spirits, not as a weapon. Similar sharp pins were indeed used for self-defense in certain traditions, for example in Okinawan martial arts, but the image of a geisha fighting with a pin is closer to a widespread story than to a documented fact.

What is tsumami zaiku?

Tsumami zaiku is the technique of folding floral ornaments from small squares of thin silk: each square is folded with tweezers into a petal, and from the finished petals a flower or bird is assembled for kanzashi. The technique appeared in the early Edo period in Kyoto, and later took root in Edo, present-day Tokyo, as a separate craft.

Sources

• Kotobank: 簪
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government: 江戸つまみ簪 — traditional craft
• Wikipedia: 簪 — materials and history
• Kotobank: 簪