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gurdymonkeyRemember yesterday when I said "Look at her hair," regarding women of negotiable virtue? Here comes another lecture from She Who Sucks Least. (Disclaimer: this is quick and dirty and I freely confess that post-1600 styles have not been my area of focus.)
Those of you who have seen me in my Japanese persona at SCA events know that I always have my hair either in a ponytail or worn long and loose. This is not laziness on my part, it's the respectable style worn by women of the court or warrior(samurai) classes during the SCA period (pre 1600).
The nape of the neck is an erogenous zone. It is considered extremely sexy in Japan. Nape display is analogous to showing a bit of cleavage.
During the Heian period, even courtesans and common women tended to wear their hair tied in a ponytail, or perhaps a small bun at the nape. It was the fashion.
At some point in the latter quarter of the 16th century, one starts to see prostitutes putting their hair up on top of their heads, such as this asobime (playgirl) from the Kyoto Costume Museum. It's the latest craze from Ming Dynasty China http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/busou/35.htm
(Note that there are no eating utensils sticking out of her head.)
1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes shogun and begins a 250 year period of relative peace and prosperity after decades of internal struggles between warlords duking it out for supremacy. As part of efforts to keep peace in the cities, prostitution is limited to specifically licensed, walled districts in Japanese cities. (These pleasure quarters include not only brothels but eateries, theaters and so forth.) Japan still being very rank conscious, there is a hierarchy even among sex workers, from lowly prostitutes to the high ranking oiran or tayu who merit court rank and palace access. http://www.tnm.jp/gallery/search/images/max/C0005224.jpg is a detail of a 17th century screen showing scenes from the pleasure quarters. You can see a number of women with Chinese influenced hairstyles and the newly fashionable, longer, hanging sleeves.
The Ming Thing begins to trickle down from the pleasure quarters to the wives of its patrons and other town women, along with other new and exciting fashions, now available with the new prosperity of the growing cities of the Edo period. One starts to see respectable women putting their hair up in elaborate, Chinese inspired hairstyles by the late 17th century. Nice example of a Genroku period city dweller here:
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/4.htm
This early 18th century painting shows a number of ladies with elaborate hairstyles, flowing sleeves and big, boldly knotted obi. Again, hair ornaments at this time are limited to paper ribbons and cord. http://www.tnm.jp/gallery/search/images/max/C0005838.jpg
It's the 18th century that sees the arrival of female geisha (entertainers), who are specifically licensed to work in the pleasure quarters as dancers, singers and musicans who do NOT compete with prostitutes or courtesans. Again, it's the fashion forward women of the pleasure quarters whose hairstyles get even more elaborate and whose clothing becomes even more showy. It's during the Edo period that hair ornaments become more elaborate. It's also during the Edo period that obi get wider and that the women of the pleasure quarters begin to show a titilating glimpse of nape.
Ukiyo-e print by Utamaro, Edo period. A little leg, a little booty, and neck down to the thoracic vertebrae, oh baby!
Periodically, the shogunate enacts sumptuary laws to keep those uppity townies from dressing above their station. Conspicuous consumption goes underground to get around it. One might wear a sober kimono with a sumptuously painted lining, for example. ("The shogun can't see it, but I know I'm wearing it....)
The tayu (Kyoto) and oiran (Edo) take the prize for most elaborate costume. http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/30.htm These high ranking courtesans wear elaborate hairstyles bristling with tortoiseshell combs and ornaments, massive obi and sexy bare feet show off 12" high koma geta that require the wearer to get around with the assistance of a retainer. Check out this video of a modern oiran re-enactor performing the trademark "figure eight" step. http://youtube.com/watch?v=yNncpdEFOB0
While the tayu and oiran eventually become outmoded, geisha remain popular throughout the Edo period. As living works of art, they continue to influence fashion, wearing hairstyles and kimono that are more cutting edge than those of well to do town ladies. (Seriously. If it looks like you need a team to help you get dressed and coiffed, the wearer HAS a team to do that.)
With the influence of Western dress and Japan's race to modernize in the late 19th century, men are the first to adopt Western clothing for the workplace and slip into kimono when they come home. By the late 20th century, geisha have morphed into preservers of tradition as times have changed and everyday Japanese limit the wearing of kimono to special occasions.
Finally, this link shows a general overview of historical hairstyles http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/50.htm
The whole chopsticks in the hair thing is a Western misconception. Hashi are for eating with!
Japanese hair ornaments include combs, kanzashi (decorated with silk flowers), kogai (a sort of bar ornament usually paired with a comb, pins and yes, hair sticks. But not chopsticks. And not before 1600.
http://www1.odn.ne.jp/maya/english/kanzashi.htm
Those of you who have seen me in my Japanese persona at SCA events know that I always have my hair either in a ponytail or worn long and loose. This is not laziness on my part, it's the respectable style worn by women of the court or warrior(samurai) classes during the SCA period (pre 1600).
The nape of the neck is an erogenous zone. It is considered extremely sexy in Japan. Nape display is analogous to showing a bit of cleavage.
During the Heian period, even courtesans and common women tended to wear their hair tied in a ponytail, or perhaps a small bun at the nape. It was the fashion.
At some point in the latter quarter of the 16th century, one starts to see prostitutes putting their hair up on top of their heads, such as this asobime (playgirl) from the Kyoto Costume Museum. It's the latest craze from Ming Dynasty China http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/busou/35.htm
(Note that there are no eating utensils sticking out of her head.)
1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes shogun and begins a 250 year period of relative peace and prosperity after decades of internal struggles between warlords duking it out for supremacy. As part of efforts to keep peace in the cities, prostitution is limited to specifically licensed, walled districts in Japanese cities. (These pleasure quarters include not only brothels but eateries, theaters and so forth.) Japan still being very rank conscious, there is a hierarchy even among sex workers, from lowly prostitutes to the high ranking oiran or tayu who merit court rank and palace access. http://www.tnm.jp/gallery/search/images/max/C0005224.jpg is a detail of a 17th century screen showing scenes from the pleasure quarters. You can see a number of women with Chinese influenced hairstyles and the newly fashionable, longer, hanging sleeves.
The Ming Thing begins to trickle down from the pleasure quarters to the wives of its patrons and other town women, along with other new and exciting fashions, now available with the new prosperity of the growing cities of the Edo period. One starts to see respectable women putting their hair up in elaborate, Chinese inspired hairstyles by the late 17th century. Nice example of a Genroku period city dweller here:
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/4.htm
This early 18th century painting shows a number of ladies with elaborate hairstyles, flowing sleeves and big, boldly knotted obi. Again, hair ornaments at this time are limited to paper ribbons and cord. http://www.tnm.jp/gallery/search/images/max/C0005838.jpg
It's the 18th century that sees the arrival of female geisha (entertainers), who are specifically licensed to work in the pleasure quarters as dancers, singers and musicans who do NOT compete with prostitutes or courtesans. Again, it's the fashion forward women of the pleasure quarters whose hairstyles get even more elaborate and whose clothing becomes even more showy. It's during the Edo period that hair ornaments become more elaborate. It's also during the Edo period that obi get wider and that the women of the pleasure quarters begin to show a titilating glimpse of nape.
Ukiyo-e print by Utamaro, Edo period. A little leg, a little booty, and neck down to the thoracic vertebrae, oh baby!Periodically, the shogunate enacts sumptuary laws to keep those uppity townies from dressing above their station. Conspicuous consumption goes underground to get around it. One might wear a sober kimono with a sumptuously painted lining, for example. ("The shogun can't see it, but I know I'm wearing it....)
The tayu (Kyoto) and oiran (Edo) take the prize for most elaborate costume. http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/30.htm These high ranking courtesans wear elaborate hairstyles bristling with tortoiseshell combs and ornaments, massive obi and sexy bare feet show off 12" high koma geta that require the wearer to get around with the assistance of a retainer. Check out this video of a modern oiran re-enactor performing the trademark "figure eight" step. http://youtube.com/watch?v=yNncpdEFOB0
While the tayu and oiran eventually become outmoded, geisha remain popular throughout the Edo period. As living works of art, they continue to influence fashion, wearing hairstyles and kimono that are more cutting edge than those of well to do town ladies. (Seriously. If it looks like you need a team to help you get dressed and coiffed, the wearer HAS a team to do that.)
With the influence of Western dress and Japan's race to modernize in the late 19th century, men are the first to adopt Western clothing for the workplace and slip into kimono when they come home. By the late 20th century, geisha have morphed into preservers of tradition as times have changed and everyday Japanese limit the wearing of kimono to special occasions.
Finally, this link shows a general overview of historical hairstyles http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/50.htm
The whole chopsticks in the hair thing is a Western misconception. Hashi are for eating with!
Japanese hair ornaments include combs, kanzashi (decorated with silk flowers), kogai (a sort of bar ornament usually paired with a comb, pins and yes, hair sticks. But not chopsticks. And not before 1600.
http://www1.odn.ne.jp/maya/english/kanzashi.htm
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 06:39 am (UTC)Actually, my Japanese teacher at Beloit used to wear chopsticks in her hair, but that was because her name was Ohashi. The kanji in her name actually meant "great stone bridge" (大橋）. (Chopsticks are often called o-hashi out of respect, similar to the way sake is called o-sake and water is called o-mizu.) Everyone got a laugh out of it. However, she was probably the only person who get away with doing that. ;-D
There's an interesting book called As We Saw Them, which is all about the first Japanese delegation to the US, sent in 1860. In it, there is mention of how shocked the delegates were by the American womens' ball gowns. It was the fashion at the time to wear ball gowns very low on the shoulder, thus displaying the bosom (and incidently, the nape as well).
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 04:51 pm (UTC)Have you thought about compiling them into a pamphlet?
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 05:56 pm (UTC)