When I was little I always had this fascination with Japanese hair clips. My grandma had a lot of pottery with old geisha paintings on them or beautiful women wearing them. I’ve always thought they were gorgeous, but never found the excuse to wear one. As an adult, it’s possible I could find a reason to use one, but mostly it would be so amazing to collect them. JapaVintage has so many antique hairclips or kanzashis to choose from. Here are a few of my favorites.
This beautiful Jade Kanzashi reminds me of Mulan, actually. I know that the movie is based in China, but Japan valued jade as well. The jade itself is beautifully speckled with white and gold aspects. The back has a very cool design with vines in mind, I believe. It’s not gaudy so I think I could pull this off with anything!
All I can say is WOW to this Bekko Kanzashi or Tortoiseshell hair comb. I love how elegant the design is. How would you use this for your every day dress? A little history, “The origin of this pattern was in Egypt. And it was propagated to India, China, and Japan.” – JapaVintage
I’m a little partial to the
I know I literally just said I like simple things, but the colors on this Mother of Pearl Kanzashi are absolutely beautiful. I would be afraid to wear this out in public because it looks so delicate. I love how the ferns and flowers all weave into each other. I’ve never seen something like this before.
This Silver Plated Kanzashi is also incredibly elegant. It is exactly what I picture when I think of 18th and 19th century Japanese women or geisha. I wish that these kinds of hairpins would have carried on into the 21st century as being trendy.
The Petal of Sakura Kanzashi embodies simplicity. This might be the oldest hairpin of the ones listed, but I feel that it’s significance is greatest. Frankly, the flower won me over.
Check out more of JapaVintage’s hairpins. There are many that I didn’t even show! Let me know what you think!