Mizuhiki knots come in
two families: bows that can be untied, for happy events you hope will come again, and knots that cannot be
untied, for events that should happen only once. A butterfly bow (cho-musubi) goes on a
birthday or birth gift. A knot that won't come undone (musubi-kiri or awaji) goes on a wedding
gift, and also on condolence money and get-well gifts.
Mizuhiki itself is cord made from washi paper, twisted tight and set with starch, and it is what you see tied
around Japanese gift envelopes. Beyond those working knots, Japan also ties decorative ones: the plum blossom
(ume), the "wish come true" knot (kanau), and cranes and turtles for long life.
This guide explains what each knot means, which colours and how many cords to use, where most of Japan's mizuhiki
is made, and how to start tying it yourself.
Quick Reference: Mizuhiki Knot Types and Meanings
| Knot | Can it be untied? | Meaning | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cho-musubi (butterfly bow) | Yes | May it happen again | Births, birthdays, graduations, wedding anniversaries, most gifts |
| Musubi-kiri (tight knot) | No | Once only | Weddings, condolences, get-well gifts |
| Awaji-musubi (awabi knot) | No; pulling the ends tightens it | A tie that lasts | Both happy and sad occasions, including weddings and funerals |
| Wa-musubi (looped ends) | Decorative | Celebration | Celebrations |
| Ume-musubi (plum blossom) | Decorative | The plum, an auspicious flower | Celebration envelopes, accessories |
| Kanau-musubi | Decorative | "Your wish comes true" | Charms, good-luck gifts |
| Tsuru and kame (crane and turtle) | Decorative | Long life | Wedding envelopes, New Year decorations |
1. What Is Mizuhiki?
Mizuhiki (水引) is a cord made from washi paper. Thin strips of paper are twisted into a tight string, set with starch paste, and then dyed or wrapped in thin gold or silver film. The name means roughly "drawn with water": according to Takashimaya's gift etiquette guide, it comes from the starch paste drawn over the twisted paper to stop it unwinding.
The story told about its origin goes back to 607, when Ono no Imoko returned from an official mission to China. The envoy who came back with him brought gifts for the Japanese court tied with red and white hemp cord, a prayer for a safe sea crossing. Gifts to the court were tied that way from then on. There are several theories, but this is the one the Iida Mizuhiki Association tells. Paper cord replaced hemp in the 14th and 15th centuries, and by the 16th century mizuhiki had reached ordinary households.
The knots grew more elaborate over time. Mizuhiki master Keishuku Tamura explains that it began as a formal custom of samurai and court families, and as merchants grew wealthy they showed it off with ever more elaborate wedding knots: cranes and turtles, pine, bamboo and plum.
2. The Knots and What They Mean
Cho-musubi (蝶結び): The Butterfly Bow
A bow with two loops, like a shoelace. Pull one end and it comes undone, and it can be tied again just as easily. That is the point: it is used for happy events that are welcome to happen again. Takashimaya lists it for almost every celebration and ordinary gift except a wedding, though a wedding anniversary gift takes a butterfly bow.
Musubi-kiri (結び切り): The Knot That Stays Tied
A firm knot that does not come undone when you pull an end, and cannot easily be retied. It carries the wish that the event never happens again. Takashimaya uses it for all wedding gifts (but not anniversaries), all condolence gifts, and get-well gifts. That is why the same tight knot can appear on both a wedding envelope and a funeral envelope; only the colours change.
Awaji-musubi (あわじ結び): The Knot for Any Occasion
Also called awabi-musubi. Two loops interlace into a shape like a pretzel, and pulling both ends only makes it tighter. It is a kind of musubi-kiri, read as a tie that lasts, and Takashimaya lists it as the knot that works for both celebrations and condolences. It is also the knot to learn first: the Iida Mizuhiki Association calls it the basic knot, and many decorative knots, including the plum blossom, are built on it.
Wa-musubi (輪結び): Looped Ends
A knot whose ends are finished in loops. Takashimaya lists it as a knot for celebrations.
Ume-musubi (梅結び): The Plum Blossom
Five rounded petals in the shape of a plum blossom. The plum flowers at the end of winter and has long been an auspicious motif in Japan, one of the trio of pine, bamboo and plum. It is a favourite on celebration envelopes and the knot most mizuhiki earrings and brooches are made from.
Kanau-musubi (叶結び): "Your Wish Comes True"
From the front, the knot forms the shape of the character 口; from the back, the character 十. Put together they make 叶, which means "to come true." It is tied on charms and good-luck gifts.
Tsuru and Kame: Crane and Turtle
Three-dimensional knots in the shape of a crane and a turtle, both symbols of long life. They are the showpieces of the craft. Many wedding money envelopes sold in Japan carry a mizuhiki crane, and cranes and turtles decorate New Year ornaments.
3. Colours and Number of Cords
Colours
Takashimaya's guide lists red and white for general celebrations and weddings, gold and silver for weddings and celebrations of long life, red alone for a 60th birthday, and black and white, yellow and white, or double silver for condolences. The darker colour always goes on the right as you face the envelope: red on the right of red-and-white, gold on the right of gold-and-silver.
Number of Cords
One mizuhiki "cord" on an envelope is usually a bundle of five strands, sometimes three or seven. For betrothal and wedding gifts, two bundles are used together, ten strands in all, called meoto mizuhiki ("husband-and-wife mizuhiki"): two people, one pair, and two families joined.
Local Custom Comes First
These are the conventions a major Japanese department store follows, and Takashimaya itself notes that customs vary by region and by family. If you are giving money at a wedding or funeral in Japan, the knot and colours printed on the envelope at a Japanese shop will already be right for the occasion written on it.
4. Why Japanese Mizuhiki? Iida, Where 70% Is Made
About 70% of Japan's mizuhiki is made in Iida, a city in southern Nagano between the Southern and Central Alps. The area grew kozo and mitsumata, the plants washi is made from, and had the clean water papermaking needs.
Iida's first paper cord was not mizuhiki at all. In the 1660s it was making motoyui, the paper ties that bound the base of a topknot. In the Genroku era (1688–1704), a man named Sakurai Bunshichi made a strong, glossy white motoyui that sold in Edo as "Bunshichi motoyui" and made Iida's name. Then, after 1868, the new Meiji government's haircut edict ended the topknot, and demand for motoyui collapsed almost overnight. Iida turned the same skills to mizuhiki for gift envelopes, and then to betrothal gifts and New Year decorations.
Much of the knotting was done by farming families as winter work, and at its peak 5,000 to 6,000 people in the area did it, according to the Iida Mizuhiki Association. Today most plain cord is made by machine, while knotted pieces are still made by hand. Labour costs and a shortage of hands now worry the association, which has answered with earrings, corsages and school workshops, and with a mizuhiki contest held every year since 2014 that draws entries from abroad.
5. Where You Will See Mizuhiki in Japan
- Wedding money envelopes (shugi-bukuro): guests bring cash in an envelope tied with mizuhiki, very often with a crane on the front.
- Gift wrapping (noshi): department store gifts are wrapped in paper printed or tied with mizuhiki chosen for the occasion.
- Condolence money: black-and-white or double-silver mizuhiki, tied so it cannot be undone.
- Betrothal gifts (yuino) and New Year decorations: where the large, elaborate knots appear, cranes, turtles and pine.
- Accessories: earrings, hair ornaments and brooches, often in the plum blossom or awaji knot.
6. How to Start Tying Mizuhiki
Learn the Awaji Knot First
The Iida Mizuhiki Association's own tutorial starts with the awaji knot, and for good reason: once you can tie it, the plum blossom and many accessory knots are variations on it. Use three or five strands held flat side by side, so they lie together like a ribbon rather than a rope.
Work Slowly and Keep the Strands Flat
Mizuhiki holds a bend but springs back if you let go, and the coated strands kink if you pull them hard. Form each loop, hold it, then tighten a little at a time, pulling one strand at a time so the bundle stays flat and even.
Fix It, Then Mount It
For an accessory, trim the ends at the back and fix them with a dab of craft glue, let it dry, and then attach an earring hook or a brooch pin. A kit with a video recipe is the easiest way to see the moves; the one below includes one.
7. Mizuhiki to Buy: Cords, a Kit and an Envelope
Cord From Iida: piece MIZUHIKI Set, Red and White
Fifteen 90 cm cords of Iida mizuhiki, five each in three shades, with a leaflet. Red and white is the classic celebration pairing, so this is the set to practise the awaji knot with and then use on a real gift.
piece MIZUHIKI Assortment Set, Red and White
Loading product details…
More Colours: KUDOS.JP Metallic Cords, 40 Pieces
Forty 90 cm cords in assorted metallic colours, made in Japan. Enough to practise freely and make several accessories.
KUDOS.JP Mizuhiki Paper Cords, Metallic, 40 Pieces
Loading product details…
A Kit: Kiyohara Aioi Knot Earrings
From Kiyohara, a Japanese craft supplies maker. The kit makes one pair of earrings and teaches four knots along the way, including the turtle knot and a chain of awaji knots, with a recipe to follow. Allow about 45 minutes plus drying time.
Kiyohara Mizuhiki Kit, Aioi Knot Earrings
Loading product details…
The Real Thing in Use: A Wedding Money Envelope
A Japanese wedding money envelope with a gold and red mizuhiki crane. If you are invited to a wedding in Japan, this is what you bring your gift in; if not, it shows a crane knot up close. Instructions are printed on the back in Japanese.
KUDOS.JP Wedding Money Envelope, Crane Mizuhiki
Loading product details…
Iida Mizuhiki Association Online Shop
The association in Iida sells envelopes, betrothal goods, cord, tools and textbooks through its own shop, and has an English page.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
What do mizuhiki knots mean?
A bow that can be untied means "may this happen again." A knot that cannot be untied means "once
only."
The butterfly bow goes on births and birthdays; the tight knot and the awaji knot go on weddings, condolences
and get-well gifts. Decorative knots add their own wishes: the plum blossom for good fortune, the kanau knot for
a wish coming true, cranes and turtles for long life.
Which mizuhiki knot is used for a wedding?
A knot that cannot be untied: musubi-kiri or awaji, usually in red and white or gold and silver, with
ten strands.
Never a butterfly bow, because a wedding should happen once. A wedding anniversary is the exception: it takes a
butterfly bow.
Which mizuhiki is used for a funeral?
A knot that cannot be untied, in black and white, yellow and white, or double silver.
The awaji knot is used for both celebrations and condolences, so the colour is what tells them apart.
Why five or ten strands?
Five is the standard bundle; ten is two bundles for a couple.
Three and seven are also used. For betrothal and wedding gifts, ten strands stand for husband and wife as one
pair, and for two families joined.
Is mizuhiki waterproof?
No. It is paper.
A little moisture is fine, but keep mizuhiki accessories out of the rain and store them dry and out of direct
sun so the colour lasts. Keep finished pieces in a box where they will not be crushed or catch on each other.
How is mizuhiki different from kumihimo?
Kumihimo makes a cord; mizuhiki ties one.
Kumihimo braids silk or cotton threads into a cord with the pattern built into it, used for kimono obi-jime and
jewellery. Mizuhiki starts with a finished paper cord and knots it into shapes.
What is Iida mizuhiki?
Mizuhiki made in and around Iida, Nagano, which produces about 70% of Japan's mizuhiki.
It is designated a traditional craft by Nagano Prefecture, and the Iida Mizuhiki Association runs an online
shop.
Final Thoughts: The Knot Is the Message
In Japan you can read a gift before you open it. A bow that unties says "again, please." A knot that won't
says "once, and for good." The colours tell you whether it is a wedding or a funeral.
The president of the Iida Mizuhiki Association puts it this way: a mizuhiki knot ties one person to another,
and carries the care you feel for them.
Start with the awaji knot. Tie it on a present for someone who will understand it, or explain it when they
open it. That explanation is part of the gift.
Tenugui: What It Is and 12 Ways to Use It
Japanese Incense Guide: Awaji, Kyoto Brands & How to Burn
