It’s that time once again! Time to check out the monthly kanzashi motifs as brought to us by Kazurasei! Be sure to check out their Instagram and website for more gorgeous kanzashi!
As both a kanzashi and a plant, the hydrangea stands out against others for its unique make up of colors and styles.
Looking specifically at the plant, hydrangeas are like chameleons who can change their colors depending on the ph level of the soil around them. Soil that’s high in acid (6.5 or lower) will produce blue colored blooms while alkaline soil (7.5 or higher) will produce pink colored blooms! To get a spectrum of colors ranging from blue to purple to pink in one plant a gardener must carefully choose what sections of soil to make more acidic and which to be more basic. The roots of the hydrangea can withstand the differences in ph levels without issue and will not become shocked like almost all other plants would. If applying an acidic mix once the plant begins to sprout in the spring you’re far more likely to see a mix of pink and blue blooms, just like the ones depicted in the kanzashi above.
As for kanzashi, the build of the hydrangea is very unique compared to all others. Instead of many petals close together and/or multiple flowers clustered together on their own wires, the hydrangea is made up of four petaled flowers (almost identical to nanohana) that are pushed into styrofoam ball bases. These bases are used to support many kanzashi, but you don’t see them quite as well as you do in the case of hydrangeas. The visible base is meant to resemble an actual hydrangea flower head whose stems are not as tightly packed as other flowers.
The most important thing to note is that hydrangeas are water loving plants, which makes them the perfect symbol for June! Beginning in June and lasting until around mid July, Japan, and Kyoto in particular, experience their rainy season. It will rain almost daily without fail and is known extremely large raindrops known as Tsuyu (梅雨), meaning “Plum Rain.” The fresh blue color and shiny flower centers of the hydrangea kanzashi are meant to give an atmosphere of coolness to the viewer, so seeing a maiko wear a hydrangea kanzashi is akin to bringing about thoughts of cool breezes an air conditioners.
When it comes to maiko, hydrangeas tend to be limited to senior maiko, even though they feature small clusters of flowers that junior maiko are known for; this is because all of the small hydrangea flowers together create one large bloom that is counted as a single flower and not multiple small ones. Like all other senior kanzashi, it is most often found in bunches of one or three, as shown on Ayano (彩乃) of Fukushima (福嶋) in Gion Kobu above.
The Kawahia Okiya from Miyagawacho has debuted a new Minarai! Her name is Kanasue (叶季) and her Misedashi will take place in 4 to 6 weeks. This is already the second girl Kawahisa will be debuting this year, which is rare, since they are a pretty small okiya. It’s looking good for them!
