#kottai

Nihongami: Hairstyles of the Karyukai - Tayuu, Shinzo & Kamuro

Historical Time Period: Mid-Edo Period - 2nd Half (1753-1789)

Hairstyle Name: Otoko Genroku (男元禄) lit. “Genroku Man”

     This hairstyle is different from its sibling style, the Onna Genroku, in that the topmost gathering of hair is styled in a tall, shaku-like pattern, compared to that of the female style. These hairstyles are a reference to the loud, flamboyant gender-fluid style of fashion during the Genroku period of Japanese history, a time when men and women dressed so alike you couldn’t always tell them apart on sight.

July 2021: Aoi-tayuu, of Suehiro okiya, wearing her hair in Kottai Katsuyama (Tayuu’s Katsuyama style) for the Gion Festival in Kyoto. She notes that maiko only wear the hairstyle during the Gion Festival in July, but tayuu can choose to wear the hairstyle at any time they please.

Nihongami: Hairstyles of the Karyukai - Tayuu, Shinzo & Kamuro

Historical Time Period: Mid-Edo Period - 2nd Half (1753-1789)

Hairstyle Name: Onna Genroku (女元禄) lit. “Genroku Woman”

    This hairstyle is different from its sibling style, the Otoko Genroku, in that the topmost gathering of hair is spread out in a wide, fan-like pattern, compared to that of the male style. These hairstyles are a reference to the loud, flamboyant gender-fluid style of fashion during the Genroku period of Japanese history, a time when men and women dressed so alike you couldn’t always tell them apart on sight.

May 2019: Aoi-tayuu, of Suehiro okiya, displaying her new hairstyle and uchikake at the kawadoko, or “river platform,” style restaurant Ikumatsu (幾松) in honor of the new Japanese era, the Reiwa (令和, “beautiful harmony”) era. Aoi-tayuu has chosen to wear a hairstyle called Kottai Kinshoujo (古体 - 錦祥女, “Old Style - Auspicious Brocade Woman”).

Nihongami: Hairstyles of the Yuukaku - Tayuu, Shinzo & Kamuro

Historical Time Period: Mid-Edo Period - 2nd Half (1753-1789)

Hairstyle Name: Kottai Ume-kuzushi (古体 - 梅くずし) lit. “Old Style - Cursive Style Japanese Apricot”

Nihongami: Hairstyles of the Yuukaku - Tayuu, Shinzo & Kamuro

Historical Time Period: Mid-Edo Period - 2nd Half (1753-1789)

Hairstyle Name: Kottai Niwatori (古体 - 鶏) lit. “Old Style - Rooster”

    This is a variation of the kottai kansuzume, which is originally a variation of the kottai wareshinobu. The version pictured above features a hashi-kanzashi, whereas the original kottai kansuzume does not. The primary difference between the kansuzume and niwatori are the name sake birds; kansuzume are winter sparrows, while niwatori are roosters. Both sparrows and roosters have a seasonal association with late winter and new years, so this may have been chosen to invoke the coolness of winter during the heat of summer. I would like to believe, since it is still largely a kottai wareshinobu, that it would still be used by a furisode-shinzo as a special winter version of their more common hairstyle.

May 2019: Aoi-tayuu, of Suehiro okiya, displaying her new hairstyle and uchikake at the kawadoko, or “river platform,” style restaurant Ikumatsu (幾松) in honor of the new Japanese era, the Reiwa (令和, “beautiful harmony”) era. Aoi-tayuu has chosen to wear a hairstyle called Kottai Kinshoujo (古体 - 錦祥女, “Old Style - Auspicious Brocade Woman”).

May 2019: Aoi-tayuu, of Suehiro okiya, displaying her new hairstyle and uchikake at the kawadoko, or “river platform,” style restaurant Ikumatsu (幾松) in honor of the new Japanese era, the Reiwa (令和, “beautiful harmony”) era. Aoi-tayuu has chosen to wear a hairstyle called Kottai Kinshoujo (古体 - 錦祥女, “Old Style - Auspicious Brocade Woman”).