Kanzashi Hair Tie XL

Kanzashi (簪) - Hair Ornament

“The kanzashi hair tie is made of tsumami kanzashi fabric flowers and handsewn petals. It is hand dyed deadstock cotton with organic indigo and is zero waste by design. The elastic used is biodegradable and the beads are made from fallen branches.

In Japanese culture, when one turns 20 years old, they participate in a Coming of Age Ceremony (seijinshiki). Part of this ceremony is to dress in a Furisode style Kimono with traditional hair accessories (kanzashi). When I celebrated my seijinshiki, I was given a box of traditional hair ornaments (kanzashi) to choose from, one being a tsumami hana kanzashi (pinched flower hair ornament).

I admired this kanzashi's beauty as an accessory and as a representation of my culture. I would have liked to continue wearing it, however, could not see it fitting in with my current style/ wardrobe. This sparked the recreation of this hair ornament in a modern context. It prompts conversation about the evolving nature of cultural design and tradition.