Kanzashi of The Month: March - Canola Blossoms and Butterflies
It’s finally here! The final month in the kanzashi calendar! When I started this almost a year ago I never thought that it would be as popular as it’s turned out to be, so it makes me really happy to know that everyone’s enjoyed it so much! If different motifs come up in the future that I haven’t covered then I may do another one of these. Otherwise, thanks for coming along for the ride! As always, all kanzashi are courtesy of Kazurasei.
Image courtesy of Kazurasei. Nanohaha (菜の花) - Canola Blossoms Chō (蝶) - Butterflies March is the month where almost every kagai is practicing diligently for the upcoming spring odori season, so everyone is rushing around and making sure that they’re keeping up with everything that’s going on. This month goes by like a blur, but thankfully its main motifs do not! Depending on how you want to translate them, nanohana can either be called Canola Blossoms or Rape Blossoms in English. Technically rape blossoms are “more” correct as they are the wild variety of the plant, but canola blossoms are the hybridized form that we more commonly know the plant to be. I personally prefer using canola blossoms as some people may feel uncomfortable hearing the term “rape blossoms”; that, and canola were hybridized here in Canada (go team!). These flowers are known to be the first of the wildflowers to bloom along the sides of roads and in the countryside. Their bright color is a sign that the snow is gone and that everything is coming back to life again.
Image courtesy of Kazurasei. At the same time, butterflies that pupated and remained in their cocoons over the winter are finally emerging as adults, and one of their first sources of food is the canola blossom! The butterflies that emerge first as adults are a common species known as the cabbage white butterfly; like its name, it can be found abundantly around leafy greens and vegetable gardens throughout the spring and summer. Just like butterflies searching for nectar you can also enjoy munching on this plant; the flowers, stems, and leaves can all be eaten as salad greens! You can usually find this plant as part of a salad bowl or even on its own at your local nursery if you’ve ever wanted to try it for yourself. Otherwise, you may even have it growing wild near you! The underside of the silver butterflies on this kanzashi are coated with a pink paper so that they reflect well. This is done for two specific reasons: 1) The reflection of the pink paper off the wings of the silver butterflies makes it appear as though the’re really fluttering while a maiko moves with this kanzashi in her hair. 2) The pink contrasts well with the green leaves in the kanzashi, so your eyes will automatically be drawn to it.
Image courtesy of Sapporo Koume. When it comes to maiko you can see canola worn by all ranks, but are the most popular with junior maiko due to their small blossoms. The flowers, while mainly yellow, are often accompanied by white or pink blossoms in the same shape as a way to show other wild flowers growing among them and to add a nice contrast with the butterflies. As can be seen with Koume (小梅) of Sapporo (above), the white blossoms and pink buds mixed in with the yellow flowers just screams spring! When the shidare is taken away as a maiko becomes more senior, like with Toshinana (とし七菜) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho (below), the butterflies become the true focus as their sparkle and shine look like real fluttering butterflies. Since silver and gold butterflies play an important part in April’s motifs these smaller versions act as a sort of precursor to the larger ones that we’ll see in the coming months ^^
Image courtesy of Oya Oya Photo.