Flight feather
Many traditions read a crow or raven feather as a sign: a message, a protection, or a reminder that something is about to change, because these birds were long thought to travel between worlds. Japanese has its own name for the feathers that do the flying. It calls them kazakiri, the wind-cutters.
風 (kaze): wind.
切 (kiri): to cut.
The full word is 風切羽, kazakiribane, with 羽 (hane), feather, on the end. They are the long flight feathers of the wing.
The flight feathers are the primaries at the wingtip and the secondaries along the arm of the wing. On a raven, the primaries spread apart in flight like fingers. The gaps between them smooth the air at the wingtip, which helps the raven soar on rising air and turn tightly. Ravens are among the most acrobatic of birds: they roll, tumble and even fly upside down, often apparently for play.
The meaning people give a found feather comes from the bird’s place between worlds. Ravens carried news to the Norse god Odin. In Japan, crows are honoured as messengers of the kami at the shrines of Kumano. A feather, in that reading, is the part of the message that stays behind.
Japanese folklore ties feathers to the wind directly. The tengu, the mountain beings of Japanese folklore, carry a fan of feathers said to raise gales with a single wave. And in Japanese, birds are counted with the character for feather, 羽: one bird is ichiwa, one feather.
The Kazakiri Tee sets a single raven feather just below the collar: a primary from the raven that runs through the whole line.
Japanese Folklore collection OUT NOW!
Hoodie giveaway, read the rules and ENTER.
New drop coming October 15th.