ALEXCIOUS

Hair-craft

A tasteful touch of the orient

Both the Kanzashi and the Mizuhiki Stick Barrette create casually elegant looks on medium to thick hair.

Mizuhiki, the Japanese art of knot tying of Samurai origin

To create the intricate Mizuhiki knot-work, washi paper is tightly wound, starched for stiffness before being auspiciously colored. Sophisticated (2D) creations are often used to decorate envelopes containing gifts of money for special occasions, and include motifs of plants, animals and fish, each of which is chosen for the meaning it conveys.

Surely Knot!

'Mizuhiki' literally translates as ‘water-pull’ - originally, hemp and suchlike was soaked in water then strips were pulled off to make cord. Quite when washi began to be used for Mizuhiki remains unclear, but it produces a thin twine that is very strong.

Mizuhiki was originally used by Samurai among others to tie their hair into topknots. As gifts presented by Samurai became more elaborate in the early Edo-Period (1603~1867), increasingly beautiful Mizuhiki designs were devised to convey feelings of warmth, affection and togetherness.

Kanzashi – A brief history

Some time around the beginning of the Edo-period the simple hair comb was transformed into an elegant beauty accessory. Often very intricate works of art, the kanzashi (combination comb and hairpin) became an expression of a woman’s character, social class and marital status. Her hairstyle was so important that it came to symbolize nearly every facet of her existence reflecting among things her age and whether she had children.

These elaborate hairstyles required a tremendous amount of time and money to maintain. Indeed the value of a woman’s hair accessories often far exceeded the cost of her embroidered silk kimono. Hair ornaments played an important role in the female wardrobe and were often given as gifts.

Highly decorative kanzashi remained an important part of fashion and social culture until the beginning of the modern era (Meiji Restoration 1868~1912) when Japan was forced to open its doors to the outside world.

The influence and characteristics of Western art and the demands of the period played a significant role in the re-interpretation of traditional aesthetic values. Traditional forms and techniques were given new guise in the creation of items better suited to this ‘forward thinking’ style.