Chonmage is an old samurai hairstyle of Japan, and we can still see them in sumo programme, Japanese period play on TV. It is so usual image of old period for us, but it is actually a pretty unique hair style, isn’t it? Today, I would like to introduce an article about this good old hairstyle of Japan.
"ghostinkishou" some rights reserved. flickr
According to an expert’s comment in the article, the root of chonmage is considered to be Honda-mage top-knot, which was originally worn by samurai of Honda family in Ise Province during the Edo period, and this was gradually spread nationwide. It was in full bloom in the Anei era, and there seems to be a wide variety of chonmage hair style available depending on social status and trend.
Oh, I see… I found it is interesting that the hairstyle is originated in Mie pref 🙂 But did people allow the chonmage hairstyle to spread around the country without any hesitation at all?? It could surely look very unique on first sight…??
Well, according to the article, we Japanese have had a long history of pug hairstyle as you can see from clay figures of the Kofun Period. So when people first saw the Honda mage hairstyle, it didn’t look anything too strange, and soon new types of mage style was created as a part of fashion like today.
Ok, so it must had been a kind of cool hairstyle back then 🙂
By the way, it seems people started to use the term, ‘chonmage’, referring to old men’s thin top knot on their head (ouch…><)
What do you think about today’s article?
Please let us know about unique hairstyle of your country, too!
Source: web R25
This is JAPAN Style!
Recent Comments