In 1982, were officially designated as a traditional Japanese handcraft in the Tokyo region. Craftsmanship Professional craftspeople typically undergo a five- to 10-year traditional apprenticeship to learn the trade. Similarly to the combs used to create hairstyles, only a small number of traditionally-trained craftspeople are left practising the trade within Japan; from 2002 to 2010, their estimated number in the country decreased from 15 to five. However, the technique of petal-folded fabric has become a popular craft amongst hobbyists, with a number of books, kits and lessons available on the subject, from sources such as the Tsumami Kanzashi Museum in Shinjuku. Some hobbyists have bypassed the traditional apprenticeship system to establish themselves as independent artisans of in Japan. Types are fabricated from a wide range of materials, such as lacquered wood, gold and silver plated metal, tortoiseshell, silk, and recently, plastic. Early plastic made out of materials such as bakelite are considered to be highly valued as collectables. There are a number of basic styles, with the wear of each typically and traditionally following seasonal arrangements; however, in the present day, the use of seasonal is observed only by geisha, their apprentices, , re-enactors and in the costumes for kabuki plays. The use of to finely indicate age and status is a tradition also only held by geisha and . For , the size, shape, variety and number of can indicate seniority and the stage of apprenticeship, used in tangent with a number of different hairstyles throughout the apprenticeship. Though geisha also wear seasonal , this is typically confined to a change in the colour of . Basic styles Despite seasonal and (in the instance of bridalwear) occasional variation, most that are not considered to be fall into one of a number of basic shapes and appearances. Other styles A number of other styles of also exist, though these are typically only worn for specific, uncommon hairstyles, such as by in certain geisha districts or by characters in some kabuki plays. – literally meaning "pinched " – are traditional made of squares of dyed or printed silk, folded into a number of shapes to represent flowers, plants and animals. Each square is folded multiple times with the aid of tweezers and glued onto a base using rice glue. A finished piece may contain anything from five to 75 squares of silk or more. pieces are intended to closely represent the