#edonihongami

    This hairstyle is a type of kougai-mage and often features a shiitake (or mushroom) shaped tabo. To create this hairstyle, the hair on the lower back of the head is fixed into the form a disk using “bintsuke abura” wax. The remaining hair is combed into a loop. During the second half of the Edo period, this hairstyle was commonly worn by the subservient ladies serving in the households of high-ranking samurai. It was also the definitive hairstyle of a class of women in the Ooku known as O-Churo.

   The name and shape of this hairstyle is meant to be a pun on both the Japanese Babylon mollusk and the spinning top toy made from that mollusk called the “baigoma” (貝独楽). The first syllable, “bai,” is a known abbreviated reference to both objects. This hairstyle was popular from the mid-18th century to the Meiji era.

    This style of the kougai-mage family of nihongami was worn by women approaching middle age during the Genroku period (1688-1704).

     It was widely popular among all women of Japanese society. The lower base of the topknot, giving it the appearance that it has been crushed, is what gives this style its name. Enhancements to this topknot, in the form of kanzashi, kanoko, and chirimen, would help to identify the age and status of the wearer.

  This hairstyle was popular from the beginning to the end of the Edo period. This style is a variation of the Maru-mage hairstyle, which was popular among married women. The three loops are of uniform size and stem from the topknot of the Maru-mage hairstyle. As best I can understand, this hairstyle was popular among mistresses and concubines, as the Maru-mage was a style specifically reserved for married women.

    This hairstyle is a variation of Murasaki Tenjin, which was first seen on courtesans in the pleasure quarters. This hairstyle was especially popular among courtesans of the “Koshi” rank, which is one level beneath those of the “Tayuu” rank. It eventually became popular among fashionable women outside of the pleasure quarters.

  This variation of the hyougo-mage features a single loop at the highest point of the topknot. The hair is wrapped around the root of the topknot, a single loop is pulled out one side, and the remaining hair is pulled out the other side in a straight shape. This hairstyle was reserved for the highest-ranked courtesans known as Oiran.

     This hairstyle was worn by ordinary urban women of moderate means. The position of the knot depended on the age of the wearer: the older she was, the lower was the knot.