About

Hair Flower Designs crafts beautiful flower, kanzashi design, hair accessories that can be used to highlight any color or style of hair.

With 3 girls of my own it has always been difficult to find hair accessories that are simple, elegant, durable, and not cheap looking. My girls love these and they have so much fun deciding which ones to wear.

The styles and varieties range from basic to multi-tiered or bunched. We also carry barrettes, combs, headbands, etc. You’ll love all of the available styles in our store (Product List) and you can add customized pieces to your order that we can personally hand craft for you.

History of Kanzashi

Kanzashi were first used in Japan during the Jōmon period. During that time, a single thin rod or stick was considered to have mystical powers which could ward off evil spirits, so people would wear them in their hair. This is also when some of the first predecessors of the modern Japanese hair comb began to appear.

During the Nara period, a variety of Chinese cultural aspects and items were brought to Japan, including zan (written with the same Chinese character as kanzashi) and other hair ornaments. During the Heian period, the traditional style of putting hair up was changed to wearing it long, tied back, and down. It was at this time that kanzashi began to be used as a general term for any hair ornament, including combs and hairpins.

During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the hairstyles changed from the taregami (垂髪?), or long straight hair, to the wider variety of “Japanese hair” (日本髪 Nihongami?) which make more use of hair ornaments.

A number of hair ornaments were also developed and used as defensive weapons in case of an emergency during the Edo period. Hairstyles became more complicated and large during the middle part of the Edo period, using a larger number of ornaments. During the latter part of the Edo period, the craftsmanship of kanzashi reached a high point, with many different styles and designs being created (see Types of kanzashi, below).