Mizuhiki is one of the traditional crafts in Kanazawa. Mizuhiki is traditionally used for celebrations such as engagement and marriage.

It is also used to congratulate on a birth of a baby, admission to a new school, purchase of a new house, recovery from illness and so on. Normally people put money in an envelope like ones in the picture. The shiny strings on those envelopes are called Mizuhiki. These strings are made with Japanese paper twines wrapped around with a string. To put it simply, these are Japanese style wrapping ribbons.

In Japan, there is a ritual called “Yuinoh” as an engagement ceremony. At the ceremony, they decorate the gifts with gorgeous Mizuhiki decorations like in the picture. The gifts are a ring, sake, cash, Kombu kelp, bonito flakes and so on. They decorate those gifts with Mizuhiki shaped into a crane, turtle, pine tree or plum blossom.

These gorgeous Mizuhiki is the traditional craft of Kanazawa. In Kanazawa, we have many “Yuinoh” decoration shops.

Recently, however, many people decide to have a simple and plain “Yuinoh” ceremony or even decide not to have a ceremony. Many young generations do not even know what “Mizuhiki” is. With my passion to promote Mizuhiki, I created Mizuhiki accessories. Mizuhiki accessories are very light and comfortable to put on. Many color variations are available so it is easy to match with your style.

The basic Mizuhiki tying styles are not that complicated so beginners can enjoy. And it is getting more popular now. Mizuhiki accessories are often covered on TV and many how-to books are available.