March Kanzashi Feature

This section is a part of kanzashi feature, providing a more in detail look at the symbolism, style, colorings, and design of the kanzashi that are traditionally worn during that month - in this case, March. The month of March is primarily about the opening up of Spring. You will notice how many of the kanzashi will have symbols associated with the birth of Spring, such as butterflies and small budding plants.



Rape Blossom (nanohana)

As Spring opens up in the month of March, you'll find many budding flowers such as the rape blossom, known as nanohana in Japan. A common sight in Japan is the opening up of these bright little yellow flowers, bringing in the feelings of sunshine. While they won't take on their full form until later in the Spring, these little patches of yellow and sometimes white, help to announce that Spring has finally come.

The bright yellow petals create an interesting contrast in fields and undergrowth and will often be seen expanding gracefully along the horizon.  Many parts of the nanohana are greatly valued for it's medicinal and food uses making it a very appreciated flower around the world. As such, you'll often see many festivals centered around this little flower during the Spring and early Summer.

The nanohana kanzashi itself is designed to imitate the four petal look of it's live inspiration, featuring round petals balancing around a central area of protruding stamens. The most commonly used color for this kanzashi is of the yellow shade, but you will also see a white variation and even a mixing of both the yellow and white. The kanzashi design will almost always take on the appearance of a grouping of the flowers, rather than a single stem and may have dangling trailing petals or bira bira dangles.

Another interesting aspect you may find on the nanohana kanzashi is the presence of little butterflies seemingly fluttering about the blossoms. Much as the buds are opening to reveal flowers, so are the caterpillars emerging to become butterflies. The accompaniment of butterflies to these blossoms makes sense, because as mentioned earlier they often like to grow in fields.

Peach Blossom (momo)*

Another flower represented in March kanzashi is the soft peach blossom, known as momo, in Japan. The peach blossom begins to make it's appearance now in preparation for it's fruit to come in later months. The peach blossom's subtle coloring and gentle appearance is a sign that the hard winter is finally over and the joy of Spring and new beginnings is blooming.

Similarly to the ume (plum blossom), the peach blossom is also viewed with great pleasure during this month in Japan. While not as popular by the Japanese as the sakura (cherry blossom), the peach is still held in high regard due to it's association with many of the old traditions, folklore, and historical heros.

The peach blossom itself is designed in a similar fashion as the actual flower, with five rounded petals spiraling around a central core, which has a small grouping of little stamens or pink fluffy centers popping up. You will often see it represented in various hues, but will most likely come across it in shades of light pinks, white, and the most common - that, much like it's name, is in shades of peach colorings.

You will most commonly see the peach blossoms arranged in a group design featuring many clusters of the blooms in a circle or laid out in a line. They will also often be accompanied by little buds and leaves scattered throughout the blossom clusters. Depending on the design, momo kanzashi may also have dangling blossoms underneath the clusters.

Peony Flower (botan)

Another kanzashi that is seen in March is the Peony flower, which is known as botan in Japan. While most botan do not fully come into bloom until late Spring and Summer, the flower is used in this month as it shows that Spring is truly rushing in and that many more beautiful flowers are going to be making an appearance soon. It's many many petals representing all of the possibilities and happiness of Spring.

Japan has one native peony flower, but the flowers that they most often identify with are the various species of peony that were brought over from China hundreds of years ago. At first they weren't highly regarded, but with time they became more and more popular, to the point where many people in Japan sought to have them in their gardens.

The botan flower kanzashi itself takes its inspiration from the many petals of the botan flower, and as such you will see that kanzashi modeled after this flower will feature many rounded petals spiraling around a fluffy central core. The petals themselves tilting inward to imitate the way live peony flowers curl inward towards their centers. The most common design is of a large single peony flower, rather than small groupings of the flowers.

The colors seen on the peony kanzashi mimic the colors of their natural counterparts and range from red to white, and occasionally orange hues. The most common coloring used for botan kanzashi are a soft light pink or a light purple/pink hue. You will also see that the peony flowers are accompanied by little leaves to add a backdrop and bring focus to the central petal spiral.

Daffodil (suisen)*

As well as being represented as a February kanzashi the bright and happy Daffodil, known as suisen, in Japan is also a March kanzashi. The daffodil appears in the late Winter and is seen as the flower that gives the final push to Spring. The white petals of the flower represent purity and peace bringing in new life, with the yellow center representing the warmth and color that is to be found in the newly begun Spring season.

The daffodil kanzashi itself, is designed to imitate it's counterpart and has six rounded petals with small points on the end, surrounding a yellow to orange colored center with stamens popping out. The outside petals are usually white, but occasionally you will see kanzashi take on petals of the yellow color much like the other varieties of daffodil that exist.

Commonly, the daffodil kanzashi will be seen as a grouping of three medium sized flowers in a triangular pattern or six smaller size flowers in a cluster. There will usually be small leaves sprouting out from underneath the flowers and other small accents to bring out the white petals more. Another look that you'll find, is the lone daffodil that is of a larger size with a few leaves and perhaps unopened daffodils still in bud form.



As you can see, all of the kanzashi found in the month of March are quite beautiful and represent the feelings natural aspects of the month with grace, much as their natural counterparts do. Every month holds a uniqueness about it that is better captured in the art of kanzashi than is usually noticed in today's fast paced world. I hope you have enjoyed reading about March's traditional seasonal kanzashi. Expect more articles to be added for each month in the future!

* Peach Blossom & Daffodil Kanzashi Images Still To Be Added.

Author: Skye Altamirano
Date: March 2008
Contact: tantaga [at] tantaga.com

Kanzashi Artist/Photographer: Amaebi79 (Peony, Nanohana)

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