Kushi Kanzashi Museum

The Kushi Kanzashi Museum in Yanaka displays around 400 traditional hair accessories from a collection of over 4,000, spanning the Edo period through the Showa era. Early examples include tortoiseshell combs once valued as much as a house, crafted by artists including Ogata Korin of the Rinpa school. The collection traces shifting fashions across eras: ornate Edo-period pieces grew with architectural hairstyles, then shrank as women adopted European styles in the Meiji era, with post-war celluloid making decorative accessories broadly affordable again. A separate display features portable ink-and-brush sets owned by Edo-period samurai and wealthy merchants. The museum is open Wednesday, Thursday, and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.