also: しか
paper flower
Only when written 紙花
General term for a flower made of paper, used in crafts or decorations.
The children made paper flowers and decorated the classroom.
funeral paper flower
Only when written 紙花
Specifically a decorative paper flower used in funeral rites or placed on the deceased.
At the funeral, they offered paper flowers on the coffin.
paper tip (red-light district)
Only with reading かみばな
Archaic term for a piece of paper given as a gratuity in a red-light district, exchangeable for money later. Reading restricted to かみばな.
See also: 小菊
In the Edo period, paper tips were used as gratuities in the pleasure quarters.
造花 refers to artificial flowers in general, often made of cloth or plastic, while 紙花 specifically denotes paper flowers.
小菊 is a small chrysanthemum, sometimes used in funeral contexts, but 紙花 is a paper representation, not a real flower.
Standard kanji spelling for paper flowers, including funeral decorations. Also read しか in some contexts.
Alternate reading for the same kanji form, used mainly in older or specialized contexts.
Archaic spelling specifically for the red-light district tip sense.
Compound of 紙 (kami, 'paper') and 花 (hana, 'flower'), with rendaku voicing to bana. The archaic tip sense derives from the practice of giving paper flowers as tokens of appreciation in Edo-period red-light districts.