Making chrysanthemum flowers, Artificial flowers

The history of artificial flower-making in Japan goes back to the 8th century, when a poem in the Man yoshu anthology contains a poem apparently referring to such flowers. In the Heian period (794-1 1 85) artificial flowers were made of thread and cloth as a part of seasonal court events. The head of the Unjo-ryu； the final school to carry on this tradition, is located in Kyoto.
In making the petals for kiku (chrysanthemum), the front edge of the heated smoothing iron is pressed down while moving from the outer side to the inner. If the angle of the iron and amount pressure is right, the shape of the flower remains unchanged for dozens of years.