japanesesilkflowers

We are of Japanese heritage and specialize in the production of hana kanzashi, a type of Japanese ornamental hairpin.

JapaneseSilkFlower employs traditional Japanese methods in the creation of kanzashi. Our hair ornaments are made of silk cloth and are hand-dyed. The silk is starched to the stiffness of paper and cut into small square pieces. Each piece is hand folded into a single petal using sharp tweezers and "pinched" in the traditional tsumami method similar to folding origami. The petals are aligned on a flat board which is covered with our recipe of rice glue. Each silk petal is mounted on stiff cardstock and carefully shaped into a desired form. Some petals are individually hand-painted. A single flower may contain from five to sixty-plus petals. Silver-plated wire is used to support the flowers, which are gathered into a colorful bouquet. Although time-consuming and labor intensive, it is our pleasure to create kanzashi employing these traditional handcrafting methods.

We seek to honor our Japanese ancestry by bringing awareness and appreciation to this aspect of Japanese history and culture. We hope you enjoy your visit. Thank you!