Japanese Accessories

A Japanese accessory does one thing, and it has a name for it. The obi closes a kimono. The furoshiki wraps a gift. The kanzashi holds hair. The kitsune mask goes to the festival. The folding fan cools you and then folds into the obi. None of the hundred and thirty-five pieces on this page is decorative for its own sake, which is the difference between an accessory and a souvenir, and this page walks through the eight kinds, what each is for, and which ones change how an outfit reads.

The eight kinds of Japanese accessory, and the job each one does

The masks are the largest group: the kitsune fox in hand-painted white with red markings and bells, the hannya demon in red, green or blue resin, the long-nosed tengu, the hyottoko clown, the Noh ko-omote, samurai menpo half masks, and demon and folk masks carved from a single block of wood for the wall. The rings are sterling silver stamped 925 or stainless steel: a dragon coiled round the finger, a koi in high relief, a samurai helmet, bands engraved with a sutra or a Sanskrit mantra, spinners that turn under a thumb, sized by inner circumference in millimetres. The obi belts come pre-tied, narrow woven obi on a hidden closure and wide brocade obi with a sewn bow, so a kimono closes without learning the knot. The fans are the folding sensu on bamboo ribs and the flat round uchiwa. The wagasa parasols have a wooden frame, a red-lacquered cap and a printed paper-effect canopy, for shade rather than rain. The furoshiki are wrapping cloths, 50 by 145 cm, printed with cranes, waves and sakura. The bags are Japanese shapes with Japanese names: the randoseru school backpack, the knot bag, the gamaguchi purse. And the hair accessories are the kanzashi stick, the tsumami clip with folded-cloth flowers, and the hachimaki headband.

Masks: kitsune, hannya, oni, tengu, and which face means what

Most people who search for a Japanese mask want the kitsune, the fox, and most people who search for the fox mask with horns are looking at a hannya. The kitsune is the messenger of Inari, white with red markings, worn at festivals and hung on walls; ours are hand-painted PVC with red tassels and brass bells. The hannya is the Noh mask of a woman consumed by jealousy: horns, gold eyes, a grin of teeth, in red, green or pale blue, each colour a different depth of feeling. The oni is the demon, horned and fanged. The tengu has the long nose. The hyottoko is the clown with the puckered mouth, the ko-omote the young woman of the Noh stage, the menpo the samurai's half mask. The wooden ones, carved from a single block of pale wood and left unpainted, are for the wall, and the Journal tells the faces apart at length.

The obi, and why the pre-tied one is not cheating

Tying an obi properly takes a lesson and a mirror, and most people who buy a yukata outside Japan never get either, which is why a third of the kimono sold online are worn with the belt wrong. A pre-tied obi solves that: the narrow ones are a thick woven cloth on a hidden adjustable closure with the knot sewn in place, in black, navy, grey, teal and off-white; the wide ones are brocade with the bow already made and a gold cord, in gold, red, violet, ivory and black. Put it on above the hip bone, bow at the back, and the kimono closes the way it should. The narrow obi also work over a coat or a long dress, which is how Tokyo wears them.

Fans, parasols and furoshiki: the summer three

The folding fan is the accessory that goes in the obi when a yukata is worn, and the twelve here are printed with Mount Fuji, cherry blossom, the wind and thunder gods or three brushed characters on bamboo ribs, plus a large plain fan in the size used for dance and a carved fan with no leaf at all. The wagasa parasol is for shade and for being seen: a wooden frame, a red-lacquered cap and a canopy printed with blossom, peonies, a maiko or an ink landscape. The furoshiki is the cloth Japan wraps things in, and once you own one you find it is a scarf, a table runner, a bottle carrier and a gift wrap that gets kept. Eighteen prints at 50 by 145 cm, from the seigaiha wave in violet to temari balls and rabbits on red.

Rings, bags and hair: the every-day three

The thirty rings are the accessory most people wear daily: silver or steel, dragons and koi in relief, guardian lions, sutras, spinners, sized in millimetres of inner circumference with the open bands adjusting. The bags are shapes rather than brands: the randoseru is the stiff-sided school backpack every Japanese child carries for six years, the knot bag closes by pulling one handle through the other, the gamaguchi is the kiss-lock purse with a plush lucky cat on the front. And the hair pieces are the kanzashi, a stick in dark wood with a resin flower and beads, the tsumami clip with folded-cloth petals and hanging bells, and the hachimaki, the headband with a red sun and two brushed characters that means you are about to try very hard at something.

Japanese accessories: the questions we are asked

What is the fox mask called?

Kitsune, the Japanese word for fox. White with red markings, it is the messenger of the god Inari and is worn at festivals and hung on walls. The mask with horns and a grin is not a fox; it is the hannya.

How do I know my ring size in millimetres?

Wrap a strip of paper round the finger, mark where it meets, and measure the length in millimetres: that is the inner circumference we list. A 57 mm circumference is roughly a US 8. The open silver bands adjust and need no measuring.

Can I wear an obi belt with something other than a kimono?

Yes. The narrow pre-tied obi work over a coat, a long cardigan or a shirt dress, and that is how they are worn in Tokyo. The wide brocade ones stay with the kimono and the yukata.

What size is a furoshiki?

Ours are 50 by 145 cm, the long format: it wraps a bottle, a bento box or a book, and it works as a scarf or a table runner. A square furoshiki would be for larger parcels; the long one is the more useful shape day to day.