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Nihongami

  • 10 min read
  • 7 chapters

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Through Japan, Hair and Kyoto

Lab · Class 6–12Archaeology & Discovery

Traditionally, the construction of most nihongami hairstyles consisted of two "wings" at the side of the head, curving upwards towards the back of the head to form a topknot or ponytail, with a long loop of hair below this also drawn into the topknot. Styles were accessorised with traditional hair accessories, though typically only by women; the combination of both style and accessories formed hairstyles that distinctively varied based on gender, age, job role and social standing.

Most styles of nihongami were hardened and shaped with wax, known as abura, and were styled with specially-carved combs made of either bamboo or boxwood, with heated tongs used to straighten the hair before styling. Hair styled in this manner was typically restyled weekly, and in some cases would necessitate sleeping on a pillow raised from the floor, known as a takamakura.

Nihongami are no longer commonly worn, and today are most often seen on maiko, geisha and sumo wrestlers. A number of different styles of nihongami are also worn by courtesan re-enactors and modern tayū, and many styles once common in the Edo period are seen faithfully reproduced in kabuki plays, which themselves also commonly date to the Edo period. Though some styles of nihongami are well documented, others have, over time, fallen into obscurity, with little in the way of documentation in regards to their appearance, name, origin and method of styling.

History

Many hairstyles now labelled nihongami were developed during the Edo period, when a preference amongst women for long, flowing hairstyles transitioned towards more elaborate, upswept styles, featuring buns at the back of the neck and 'wings' at either side of the head. This trend, originating amongst courtesans and kabuki actors, soon spread to fashionable merchants' wives, before becoming a general fashion trend seen throughout Japan.

During this time, a number of widely-varying hairstyles were developed and worn by Japanese women, with hairstyles commonly worn based on age, social class and occupation. One such hairstyle that developed during the Edo period was the shimada, which was commonly worn by girls in their late teenage years. The shimada became the basis for a number of popular hairstyles, such as the tōrōbin shimada (lit. 'lantern shimada'), which developed in the mid-Edo period; featuring wide wings at the side of the head, its name was said to refer to the fact that the area behind a person could be seen through the wings of a hairstyle, akin to being able to see through a tōrō lantern. The tōrōbin shimada experienced wide popularity, and was commonly depicted in ukiyo-e prints by artists such as Utamaro.

Other hairstyles, such as sakkō (先笄), momoware and the yuiwata were also worn by young women; the momoware hairstyle was typically worn by girls during the Edo period, with sakkō being worn by newly married women during the later Edo period and Meiji period.

Historically, traditional hairstylists, known as keppatsu-shi, were almost entirely women, a trend which continued up until the 1970s, when the last hairstylist servicing the tayū in Kyoto died, leading to hairstylist Tetsuo Ishihara taking the role. The boxwood and bamboo combs used to create the hairstyles were, and continue to be, handmade by craftspeople; however, though as many as 200 craftspeople made combs near Osaka in the mid-19th century, few craftspeople exist to produce traditional combs in the modern day.

During and after WWII, wigs (known as katsura) being worn by geisha; this allowed geisha to go weeks without needing to restyle their hair, over the once or twice weekly required when not wearing a wig. The hairstyles worn by maiko also changed following WWII, though maiko continued to mostly use their own hair instead of a wig. Previously, maiko had worn hairstyles relatively similar to the shimada style worn by geisha, with each section of the hairstyle appearing longer and less voluminous in style. In the postwar period, the number of hairstylists with the knowledge to create this hairstyle dwindled significantly enough that the hairstyles of maiko were redeveloped.

In the present day, there are still relatively few traditional hairstylists, with just five in 2004 in Kyoto servicing the entirety of the geisha and tayū communities.

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