Language can be a very beautiful thing.
Compared to kanji, the set of characters originally borrowed from China which represent entire words or concepts, the phonetic Japanese script called hiragana has a simpler, more flowing appearance. Unique to Japan, hiragana are elegant enough that last year they served as the inspiration for a line of jewelry from designer and calligrapher Saori Kunihiro, which took only a single day to meet its goal on crowdfunding site Makuake.
Emboldened by this success, Kunihiro is back again with a crowdfunding campaign for a second round of hiragana accessories with several improvements on the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s9msifFdUA&feature=youtu.be …
While the original hiragana accessories were only available as earrings, Kunihiro is now also offering them as necklaces, rings, bracelets, pins, and obidome kimono sash accessories.
▼ Arigatou (thank you)
▼ Kizuna (bond)
▼ Yume (dream)
▼ Utsukushii (beautiful)
▼ Ai shiteiru (I love you)
▼ Tokyo
▼ The working designs for suki (another way to say “I love you”) and kokoro (heart)
Whereas last year’s hiragana were brass, this time they’re available in either 10-karat gold or 925 sterling silver.
Kunihiro also made this year’s models more compact, going from 7.7 centimeters (3 inches) to 3.8 centimeters in length, resulting in designs that are less unwieldy and more versatile.
If this meeting between fashion and linguistics speaks to you, the new hiragana accessory Makuake page can be found here, with reward tiers that include the accessories themselves starting at 8,500 yen (US$71).
Related: Hiragana Accessories Makuake, English Twitter
Source: Japaaan
Images: Hiragana Accessories Makuake (edited by RocketNews24)
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