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.
The most representative cerempnies featuring courtly artificial flowers are the called Go-sekku. The jinjitsu, Joshi, Tango, Shichiseki, and Choyo originally came from China and were ratified by the shogunate in 1616.
During this festival, households with male children display armored warrior dolls or helmets. In the Unjo-ryu style, the iris helmet and cypress helmet have flowers on the top. Since "iris" and "esteeming the military arts" are homonyms in Japanese, they represent a desire for excellence in the martial arts.
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