Unique and original hair accessory.
Luxurious Japanese design. Impressive, elegant and classic.
Wonderfully ornamented Kanzashi style hair comb with traditional lacquered Maki-e design floral pattern.
The top of the comb is decorated with a line of stylish 8 mm spherical faux pearls. Comb teeth have enough length (7~8cm) to hold even thick hairdo.
The styling of this lovely comb is typical of Japanese design.
IRIS flower * (Ayame in Japanese,“菖蒲”) has captivated the hearts of the Japanese people since ancient times. The morphologically rich and beautiful flowers have inspired painters and poets and are often used in heraldic emblems. People have been fond of using the design of this flower on their Kimonos for centuries. They have also appeared in many paintings and have been written about in Haiku poems. The Iris is one of the most appealing flowers to Japanese artistic senses.
Material: Acrylic resin, artificial pearls.
Size (Cm): Length: 13-14; Width: 6 - 10
This beautiful vintage style Japanese hair comb is the type called "Kanzashi." The history of Japanese Kanzashi (ornamental hairpin) goes back as far as 3000 years ago. In the prehistorical Jomon era (approx. 1000 B.C. to 300 A.D.), it was believed that a supernatural power inhabited this thin stick. Wearing this stick as a charm against evil spirit became the origin of Kanzashi. The derivation of the term "Kanzashi" is "“Kami-zashi”" meaning “hair stick”. People decorated their hair with flowers when they were inviting Deities. Another theory is “"Ka- zashi”" meaning “flower stick”.
Such ornaments represent a link with traditional forms in Japanese hair accessories, which have been used for hundreds of years before Western styles began to overtake traditional forms.
Please note: Details and colors of the images might be slightly different from the actual product. As it is hand made, small imperfections are common in the lacquer work on kanzashi in this quality range.
Absolutely lovely item - it would make a unique gift.
* Did you know that one of the native species of Japanese iris, Kakitsubata, is often associated in art with the eight-plank bridge (yatsuhashi)—a kind of low, zig-zag bridge often built over iris marshes in gardens, in reference to an episode in the Ise Monogatari (“Tales of Ise.” Japanese story of the tenth century). An aristocratic poet, weary of the fashionable life in Kyoto, set out on a long journey. Arriving at Yatsuhashi (meaning “eight bridges”), he saw irises in full bloom in a marsh crisscrossed with the eight bridges that gave the area its name. The sight filled him with such longing for his wife far away in Kyoto that he wrote a tanka poem for her, beginning each line with a syllable from the flower's name, ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta.
Here is the poem:
I have come so far away on this trip this time
and think of my wife that I left in Kyoto.
