Toho 3mm Magatama Beads

Magatama beads were historically comma shaped, appearing first in Japan and Korea. It is believed that magatama were popularly worn as jewels or used as decoration for weapons, symbolically they represented water drops, sprouting seeds, flames, or the embryo. In contemporary Japan, the magatama beads' shape is an accepted representation of the human spirit and the ancient representation (of a comma shaped bead) is considered to be one of the the origins of the Yin-Yang Symbol.

Our magatama beads come from Japan, where they are made to exacting standards. They have become very popular in bead work, for ending fringes, and as an element in bead embroidery.