Hello! Glad to meet you again!! It is How Unique Japan. This time, I would love to write about the iconic and symbolic hairstyle of the Samurai (or Japanese in the Edo era). It is about a topknot in Japan, Mage.
The history
Why did such a strange hairstyle get famous and become standard in ancient Japan?
According to historical theory, such a unique hairstyle was born around the end of the 12th century. At that time, Japan had a bad season of war for long. So, Many Japanese guys wore armor and fought.
However, the armor had a big problem, especially the helmet. It is HOT!! Because Japan is a humid country. Whenever the soldiers prepared for the war, they struggled badly. (It is not joking that many soldiers died of heatstroke!)
So, the ancient Japanese managed to make a solution for this. It was Shaving the top of a head to get cool down. It is the reason why the mage was born.
How did they cut and set their hair?
They shaved the upper part of their head and kept the hair on the sides and back long. The hair around the side of a head is gathered like a bunch of crops and tied together. The tied hair would then be vertically in the middle of their head.
So, let me add one more unbelievable detail of the Mage topknot. It is how to shave their head.
Did you think they could shave with a sharp knife, katana, or something? Sorry, you are wrong. They didn’t shave. THEY PULL OUT THE HAIR WITH THEIR HANDS FORCEFULLY!
They grabbed their hair and pulled it out till they got the top side of their head furless because there was no time nor tools to shave in the war season.
OMG. It sounds so painful. (Fortunately, after the war season was over, many guys were able to use barbers. Of course, barbers used the knives for it).
BTW, the bald area of their head is called Sukiyaki. That means it is like a moon.
Yap. It just looks like.
There were some kinds of Mage Topknot
Such a unique symbol quickly became common among Japanese guys, and they loved to keep the style. Because keeping the hairstyle shows, I am always ready for any battle for honor. Sounds cool. Then, some types of mage styles were also born.
Interestingly, ancient Japanese expressed their jobs in the Mage style. Please look under and follow the numbers and explanation.
- Feudal Lord style– From ancient times, Japan has had many prefectures. Each prefecture has had a feudal lord. So, this is the lord’s hairstyle they used to express the top rank of their territory with it.
- Townspeople style – This was the popular hairstyle for the people who lived in towns. Many business people like to set their hair in the style.
- Police force style – Many samurais and police officers set their hair tighter than the style of townspeople. It made their faces firm.
- Ronin (Fired samurai) style – It is the style Ronin (Fired samurai) who stopped to work and belonged to his feudal lord. It looks messy. So, he quit to take care of his hairstyle no longer.
- Sumo wrestler style – Any sumo wrestlers take. It has been lasted even now.
- Prisoner’s style – If somebody did criminal things, their Mage topknot (tied part of their hair) was cut/taken off by the police officer when arrested. It made them look poor.
To close
There were other styles of Topknot/Mage. That meant the hairstyle was popular at that time. If you have an opportunity to see some Japanese drama concerned with the old era, take a look closer at their head. You might notice some differences between their Topknot (Mage).
Thank you so much for reading this article! Are you still interested in some uniqueness in Japan? If you are, please feel free to visit the front page of my blog!
Alright! See you for the next article!