Chonmage
A chonmage ( Japanese 丁 髷 ) is a traditional Japanese men's haircut. He is mostly associated with the samurai . More recently he has been seen almost exclusively among sumo wrestlers .
For a chonmage, the hair must be relatively long. It is oiled with bintsuke , perfumed chamomile oil , and tied into a ponytail using a waxed bow made of washi paper , the moto-yui , which is then folded on the top of the head to form a kind of knot. In the Edo period , the main hair on the top of the head was usually shaved off. After the Meiji Restoration , this hairstyle was no longer worn.
Sumo wrestlers, who now wear a chonmage haircut, no longer shave off the top hair, but occasionally thin it out to give the knot a better hold. Fighters from the top two leagues, the so-called sekitori , are allowed to wear a slightly modified chonmage. The style of this hairstyle is called Oichō-mage ( 大 銀杏 髷 , ginkgo leaf ), with her the hair ends of the knot called Hakesaki are spread out in a semicircle.
In 1937, Shinkai Kōzō was the first sumō fighter to have his hair bun cut on the occasion of his resignation. Today it is generally become custom that one rikishi in their farewell to the ring ( Danpatsu-shiki ) in a public ceremony their Mage decreases.
The uniqueness of the Chonmage makes it necessary for the Japanese Sumo Association to employ specialized hairdressers , the so-called Tokoyama ( 床 山 ).
