Flat hairpin
Hirauchi kanzashi are thin, flat, circular ornaments with one or two legs. Often worn by women of the samurai class, they are generally made of silver or silver-plated metals, and these are sometimes specifically referred to as ginhira. They feature a family crest or floral design carved into a circular, tortoiseshell, diamond, or flower-shaped frame, often using openwork or hair engraving. While women of the samurai class usually had their family crest engraved, it seems that among geisha in the late Edo period, it was popular to have the family crest or initials of the name of a loved one engraved. Unusual patterns include those depicting round fans, open folding fans, ginkgo nuts, paulownia trees, and bamboo grass, and are made from wood, tortoiseshell, or, in modern times, plastic.
Tamakanzashi (ball ornamental hairpin)
Tamakanzashi is a simple hairpin with an attached ear pick and a single bead, and is the most popular type of kanzashi. The ear pick was originally for practical use, but has since been preserved as a design element. A variety of materials have been used for the decorative beads, including coral, agate, jade, tortoiseshell, ivory, glass around the end of the Edo period, and celluloid in the Taisho period. In the Kyoto entertainment district, it is customary to wear coral beads on a regular basis, with jade beads used in the summer. The larger the bead, the younger the person. Kanzashi come with one or two legs.
Chilican
This is a type of metal hairpin worn by geisha and others as a front ornament. The decorative part on the head is supported by a spring, which gives it a distinctive swaying motion. It is said that it got its name from the tinkling sound it makes when the ornaments sway and touch each other. A thin, plate-like leaf hangs from the bottom of the ornament, which also makes a soft sound.
Viracane
They are mainly made of metal, and come in fan-shaped or round-shaped heads with the family crest stamped on them. Due to their shape, they are also called "fan" or "hime-gata" (princess-shaped) hairpins. They have a long, thin plate-like kanzashi hanging down around the flat part of the head, and are shaped like a flat uchi (ear pick) with kanzashi attached. Modern maiko also wear them in front (although they no longer wear them once they become geisha). In that case, they wear a kanzashi around the right temple and a tsumami kanzashi on the left.
Pine needle hairpin
This refers to a simple hairpin made mainly from tortoiseshell and with an overall shape resembling a pine leaf. It was named after its resemblance to scattered pine needles. It is also included in the hairpin sets for courtesans in the Kanto region (Yoshiwara).
Yoshicho
A slender hairpin (kanzashi) that is nothing more than an earpick and has no other decorations. It was primarily made of metal or tortoiseshell, but nowadays it is more common to find them made of metal or plastic. Married women typically wore just one around the left temple. Also, while geisha were only allowed to wear up to two, courtesans had no limit on the number and would wear many kichicho in their hair. Many of them had carvings or decorations on the surface, and earpicks that were originally for practical use have since been preserved as designs. Earpicks were generally round in the Kanto region and square in the Kansai region.
Frilly hairpin
This type of hairpin (kanzashi) for unmarried women appeared in the Edo period (Kansei era). It is characterized by a design with several chains hanging from the main body, with ornaments such as butterflies and birds hanging from the ends of the chains. It is intended to be worn around the left temple, and is a particularly flashy and ornate type of hairpin. During the Tenpo era, gorgeous types with glass ornaments hanging from the ends of 7 to 9 chains were popular among young girls from wealthy families in Kyoto and Osaka.
Tsumami Kanzashi (Tsumami Hairpin)
Tsumami kanzashi, also known as hana kanzashi, is a type of hair ornament made by cutting thin cloth into small squares, pinching and folding them, pinching them with bamboo tweezers to apply glue, attaching them to a base, and layering them several times to create flower and bird patterns. Many of them have a flower motif, so they are also called "hana kanzashi." The fabric is generally pure silk, and in the past, artisans would dye them themselves. In modern times, they are used by maiko (apprentice geisha), and are also often used as decorations for children's Shichi-Go-San ceremonies.
Kanokodome
A short hairpin used to fasten a tegara (a piece of cloth used to hold or decorate a topknot; often made from kanoko-shibori crepe). Unlike regular hairpins, the part that goes into the hair is attached perpendicular to the decorative part. Used in the "wareshinobu" hairstyle worn by young maiko, it is a high-quality item with a silver or platinum base decorated with intricate designs of butterflies, thread chrysanthemums, peacocks, flowers, etc. made from jade or coral.
Position
Kanzashi hairpins are characterized by round ornaments resembling medicine balls made from silk petals.
Medicine ball
Kanzashi hairpins are characterized by round ornaments resembling medicine balls made from silk petals.
Vertical insertion
This type of hairpin has a long pin and is inserted vertically into the temples. The most famous example is the summer fan hairpin, which resembles a round fan. It first appeared in the mid-Edo period when people began to protrude their temples.
Ryotenkanzashi (double hairpin)
This is a type of hairpin with matching ornaments on both ends. In Kamigata (Kansai area), it was called "Ryo-zashi" and in Edo, it was called "Ryo-ten." It is a silver hairpin that splits into two parts in the middle. One end is cone-shaped, and the other has a hole into which it can be inserted, and it fastens by inserting it into the socket. The ornaments typically feature family crests or flowers, and were mainly worn by young women and girls from wealthy families.
Silver Hollyhock Hairpin
This type of hairpin was popular in Edo around 1830. It is a flat silver hairpin with a design that resembles two small hollyhock leaves, and was worn by unmarried young women and young courtesans.
Musashino Hairpin
Hairpins made of bamboo and decorated with bird feathers were popular from 1838 to 1840. They were worn by unmarried young women and young courtesans, but perhaps because they were made primarily from bamboo and bird feathers, they were rather plain and did not gain widespread popularity.
Edo silver hairpin
Short, silver hairpins measuring around 4 sun (approximately 4 inches) were widely worn in Edo from the mid-late Edo period through the Meiji period. Early versions were longer, measuring 5 to 6 sun (approximately 4 inches), but by the late Edo period, shorter versions became the norm. Tamakanzashi (ball-shaped hairpins) decorated with coral, gold dust, or gourds are the standard design, but using the same techniques as hirauchi kanzashi (flat hairpins), there are also elaborate designs featuring motifs such as flowers, birds, the moon, and the moon, as well as rice bags and fans, and even types with no decoration at all. While solid silver is the norm, in the late Edo period, there were also some with Kamigata-style gold plating, and some with the lower half silver and the visible parts made of shakudo (red copper) with gold inlay.
Comb
This comb is shaped like a hair comb. It's usually distinguished from a kanzashi (ornamental hairpin), but because the word kushi (comb) is also called kushi and can be interpreted as "dying in agony," it was sometimes listed as a hair ornament or hair accessory when given as a gift. It's often made from tortoiseshell, though some are crafted from glue or lacquer-coated wood. Many are decorated with pearls, mother-of-pearl inlay, or gold leaf maki-e (lacquer stencils), and the main body (the peak) is wide to accommodate the decoration. While Western combs have teeth all the way to both ends, Japanese combs have teeth only in the center. This is because Japanese combs developed as front combs worn midway between the forehead and the crown of the head for traditional Japanese hairstyles, and only needed enough teeth to fit within the width of the front hair.
Hairpin
A tool used in tying Japanese hairstyles. It is usually distinguished from a kanzashi (ornamental hairpin). Originally, it was used by both men and women to tie up their hair. For men, it is a small knife-like object found in the handle of a Japanese sword, with a handle on one side and a shape that gradually tapers towards the tip. Hair was wrapped around it to create a topknot, but over time it came to be left in the hair after wrapping and used as an ornament. Furthermore, in the late Edo period, its practical use for creating topknots was no longer questioned, and its use changed to that of a hair ornament that was inserted into the finished topknot afterwards.
