Japanese Antique Hairpin | Kougai Hair Accessory

Dimensions: 5-1/2” L

Shown is an Antique Japanese Hairpin, Meiji era, 19th century with lacquer decoration with gold hiramaki-e on a nashiji or aventurine sparkle. The hairpin ends are further embellished with inlaid wild flowers utilizing Mother-of-Pearl. The same gold lacquer motif is used on both ends of the hairpin. This Kanzashi pulls apart for ease of use and shows that the base is wood with a lacquer finish and has an extremely fine decoration. 

Vintage Condition: Excellent condition, with extremely fine ornamentation and lacquer work, with no missing or broken parts, and no defects of note. “As is”, and retains the original craft/workmanship. No discoloration, chipping/cracking, surface wear, or structural damage.

NOTE: Kanzashi are elaborate Japanese hair ornaments often worn with traditional Japanese clothing and now throughout contemporary society. A Japanese hairpin is about much more than just styling your hair. Some 400 years ago, Japan took the simple comb and transformed it into an elegant beauty accessory that became a work of art. Japanese kanzashi became expressions of a woman’s character, social class, or religion. People could even tell what neighborhood someone lived in by looking at their hair ornaments. According to an ancient Japanese proverb, “A woman’s hair is her life”, (Kami wa onna no inochi), and from the early 1600s until the beginning of the modern era, decorative combs and hairpins have been an important part of Japanese fashion. In the Edo period, the women's hairstyle that had been hanging straight up until that time became "a hairstyle of the movement”, so the demand for combing and hanking, (coiling, knotting, looping a piece of hair) became in fashion.