Meanings
- uncountableJapanese cord made from paper and used to decorate gifts.
This is tied with the mizuhiki, a type of paper-twine, and a folded piece of paper called noshi is attached to the upper right-hand corner.
1964, Nihon Yunesuko Kokunai Iinkai, Japan: It's Land, People, and Culture, page 7581 more example
In fact the string colors may indicate further divisions in types of gifts. According to Ekiguchi, this mizuhiki (Fig. 1.5), as it is called in Japanese, comes in eight different combinations of colors.
1993, Joy Hendry, Wrapping Culture: Politeness, Presentation and Power in Japan and Other Societies, pages 15-16 - uncountableHandicraft or artwork made from Japanese paper cord or similar material.
Follow these instructions by Karen Thomas to learn how to make a mizuhiki Christmas tree card.
2014 November 25, Carol Duvall, “How to Make a Mizuhiki Christmas Tree Card”, in HGTV, archived from the original on 04 Oct 20171 more example
At a recent fundraiser for Nikkei Concerns, Ohno and his father Yuki received this ‘mizuhiki’ artwork by Haruko Shimizu
2006 July 28, Chad Pata, “Apolo Ohno’s Golden Years”, in Midweek
Origin
- Japanese水引“decorative cord”
- Englishmizuhiki
From Japanese 水引 (mizuhiki, “decorative cord”).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
mizuhiki. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mizuhiki
“mizuhiki.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mizuhiki. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mizuhiki,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mizuhiki.
Source: mizuhiki on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.