Coiffures of the YÅ«jo.

Although it is remarked in the “Yoshiwara Taizen� (�原大全) “their hair even now is dressed in the ‘Hy�go’ style after the fashion of the Hy�go-ya brothel at Ōhashi, Yanagi-ch�,� yet when we find no coiffure of this style in the pictures painted prior to the Tenna era (1681–1683) the correctness of the assertion may be doubted. Judging from ancient pictures of the “Uki-yo-e� school, it would appear that up to the era of Keich� (1594–1614) courtesans wore their hair hanging down the back, and that even in the era of Kwan-ei (1624–1643) they merely gathered it up on the top of the head in a very simple manner. It is mentioned in various books that in the era of Kwam-bun (1661–1672) a tayū named Katsuyama, living in the Yamamoto-ya in the Shin Yoshiwara, devised a method of coiffure, called after her, “Katsuyama-magé.� In the “D�b� Go-en� (洞房語園) it says:—

“About the period of J�-o (1652–1654) or Meireki (1655–1657) there was a tayū named Katsuyama in the house of Yamamoto H�jun of Shimmachi in the Shin Yoshiwara. Formerly she had been a furo-onna (“bath-woman:� really an unlicensed prostitute) in a bath-house (known as ‘Ki-no-kuni-buro’), kept by a man called Ichibei, at Kanda in front of the Tango-den (neighbourhood of the present Kiji-ch�). When the furo-ya (bath-houses) were abolished this woman returned to her parent’s house, but appeared again as a j�ro in the house of H�jun. Her hair was bound up in one ring and tied with white moto-yui (cue cord) and this style still exists under the name of Katsuyama-magé, etc., etc.�

Types of Courtesans’ Coiffures.

[The Maru-magé of later years is believed to have been evolved from the Katsu-yama-magé.] In the era of Tenna (1681–1683) Hy�go-magé and Kaisei-shimada came into vogue. The Shimada-magé is said to have originated in the era of Kwan-ei (1624–1643) with a dancing-girl of Ky�to named Shimada Jinsuke. The Keisei-shimada resembled the present Shimada in nearly every respect. In the era of An-ei (1772–1780) the Kinsh�jo-bin, Utsusemi-mage, Nakabin, Hishidzuto, Yoko-hy�go, Yamagata-tori-bin, Sogidzuto-musubi, Tate-hy�go, and other styles, came into fashion, and later the Susuki-bin, Otoshi-barake, Tsutogiri, Sumi-Shimada, Adzuma-bin, Kainade-dzuto, Chasen-magé, Tsumi-hy�go, etc., came into vogue. By the era of Bunsei (1818–1829), however, of these only the Tate-hy�go, Shimada, and a few others had survived. [At present the hair of the red bear (sha-guma) is used to form a tuft of false hair over which to spread the natural hair in making up a Tate-hy�go coiffure: sometimes, although very rarely, it is used in dressing the hair in Shimada style]. It appears that in the Tenna and Teiky� eras (1681–1687) only vegetable oil was used in dressing the hair, and that bin-tsuké (pomatum) had not yet come into use. In the “Go-nichi Mukashi-monogatari� (後日昔物語) the statement of an old man born in the 3rd year of Emp� (1675) is quoted to the effect that:—

“A certain old gentleman, who was ten years older than my father, traversing an assertion by the latter that the hair of courtesans was hardened by too much oil, said that such was not the case in former years when the girls rubbed a little thin oil on their heads: he also said that the hair remained in its natural state and did not show any greasiness of appearance. The old pictures substantiate this assertion.�

Types of Courtesans’ Coiffures.

Moreover, in those days of comparative simplicity, the women used to dress their own hair. The “Hy�kwa Mampitsu� (�花漫筆) remarks:—

“In ancient times it was considered a disgrace for courtesans not to dress their hair themselves, but of course it must be recollected that there were no professional female hairdressers at that period; they were of later origin. * * * In an old document, said to be a certificate of a yūjo belonging to the house of Idzumi Kankichi of Edo-ch�, the following sentence occurs:—This woman having been taught by her parents how to dress her hair, and how to write, no concern need be felt on these points. There is a considerable difference between this certificate and one of the present day.�

According to the “Kumono-Itomaki� (蜘蛛糸�) written by Ky�zan, a well-known writer, the professional female hair dresser came into existence at the end of An-ei (1772–1780) and therefore it was undoubtedly later than that period before the courtesans used to have their hair dressed by regular experts.

Referring to the style of hair dressing, the same authority says:—

“For about 20 years after the Temmei (1781–1788) era until the era of Bunkwa (1804–1817) the style of hair-dressing of the oiran was generally the Tsumi-hy�go, but of late years this has ceased to exist. The size of hair-pins, on the other hand, has become larger than in former days, for in the Temmei period they were very small and light and no person placed the present artificial tortoise-shell (bazu) ornaments on her head. As regards the style of hair-dressing, the karawa, hy�go, shimada, marumagé (katsuyama-mage) and shiitake, came into vogue in the order named.�

For further information on the styles of hair-dressing, the reader is recommended to refer to the Reki-sei-oniia-s�k� (歷世女�考). The woodcuts inserted in this section illustrate the principal styles of coiffures which have been adopted in the Yoshiwara from time to time.

Types of Kamuro Coiffures.