January went by really fast, it feels like. This is a clip brooch with a plum blossom, which is a winter theme that you see a lot in traditional Japanese dress during the month of January. This plum blossom has little pointy (“ken” refers to “pointed”) petals in between the round ones.
I normally work with smooth silk habotai, but this piece is made from a textured crepe material called chirimen. Modern chirimen is usually a synthethic, as opposed to being pure silk.