Rice Starch Paste, Not Craft Glue: The Case for Himenori in Tsumami-Zaiku

Tsumami-zaiku uses rice starch paste. Not craft glue (like Elmer's or wood glue).

We get asked this a lot in our workshops. Craft glue bonds faster, harder, and more easily — so why not use it? It's a fair question.

Because it dries slowly

The advantage of rice starch paste is that it dries slowly. That's not a drawback. It's the point.

Tsumami-zaiku is the work of mounting silk petals onto a base, one at a time. As you layer five, nine petals, you'll sometimes decide the angle of the very first one isn't quite right. Once you can see the whole flower taking shape, you want to go back and adjust it.

With rice starch paste, you can. It hasn't dried yet, so the petal can still be nudged into place. With craft glue, that decision is made the instant the petal touches down — no going back.

Being able to redo a petal is what changes the finished piece.

It doesn't flatten the silk

There's a second reason. Rice starch paste doesn't dull the character of the silk.

Craft glue dries hard, forming a stiff plastic-like film. The edges of the silk can stiffen and take on an unwanted sheen. That soft, almost glowing quality that good silk has from within — the very thing that makes it silk — disappears under it.

Rice starch paste is just that: starch, made from rice or wheat. Once dry, it stays a textile. The silk stays silk.

Kanzashi (traditional Japanese hair ornaments) made a hundred years ago still hold that same soft expression today — because they were made with this kind of paste.

Applied with a glue board

Rice starch paste is spread thin on a glue board, and the cut edge of the petal is pressed onto it.

This way, every petal picks up the same amount of paste. A consistent amount of paste is what makes the petals stand at a consistent angle. Apply it directly to the petal instead, and you'll end up with too much here, too little there — the flower comes out uneven.

Scoop the paste with a bamboo spatula, spread it on the board — that's the whole motion. Simple as it is, it's what happens every morning in our workshop before anything else begins.

About Himenori

At Oharibako, we make our own rice starch paste for tsumami-zaiku, called himenori. It's what we use in our classes and in the workshop.

You could make do with a store-bought paste. But tsumami-zaiku calls for a particular stickiness and a particular drying speed. Too stiff, and the petals won't move. Too loose, and they won't hold their shape. Himenori is our own adjustment, tuned to how we actually work.

It comes in a 90g mini size, a 250g standard size, and a 1kg bulk size. If you'd rather start small, our Himenori Starter Set pairs it with silk to get you going.

Browse tsumami-zaiku materials and tools

Kits with craft glue are available too

That said, some people just want to make something first.

We also offer corsage kits made with craft glue — no tweezers, no rice starch paste required. It's closer to origami: fold, glue, done. If that draws you in, moving on to rice starch paste later is more than enough.

Browse tsumami-zaiku kits

About Oharibako (Kyoto)

Oharibako has been making kanzashi and kimono accessories in Nishijin, Kyoto, for 80 years. Every material we carry is something that's actually on our workshop table.

What to gather first: tsumami-zaiku materials and tools