#kougai

[tanuki-kimono]

簪 Kanzashi (Japanese hairpins) and いち止 Ichidome (hairstops), handy charts by Edo lover Nadeshico Rin following the kushi/combs and kôgai/hairsticks ones.

Technically, kôgai (hairsticks, rod-like/single prong) were pratical hair accessories meant to hold mage (chignon), where kanzashi (hairpins, with 2 prongs) were used as decorations only.

Historically, two prongs hairpins differentiated from kôgai to circle around sumptuary laws* banning certain types/material for kôgai. (*I remember reading that kôgai could be used as weapons which probably weighted in the authorities’ decision to ban some kôgai types ^^;)

Nowadays in the West, word “kanzashi” often refers to “tsumami kanzashi” ie hairpins with silk flowers. But many types existed, many of which are now mostly seen worn in “traditional”/formal settings (tea ceremony, wedding, or by Geisha/Maiko for example).

As for hairpins types, you can see here from right to left, top to bottom (pins are more or less sorted chronologically):

Right column:

松葉簪 - matsuba kanzashi (pine needle hairpin) - straight forward name for this pin which looks like a big pine needle, it was popular during Meiwa and An’ei eras

紋入り簪 - mon iri kanzashi (crest hairpin) - popular during Meiwa/An’ei eras, this pin had a small crest carved between tab and prongs parts. Women could wear their family crest, but also their favourite Kabuki actors one’s for ex for historical fangirling ;)

輪形銀簪 - wagata gin kanzashi (ring shaped silver hairpin) - a simple yet refined pin which appeared around Shôtoku/Kyôhô eras. Apparently one of the first hairpins having two prongs + tab design

持出し簪 - mochidashi kanzashi (stick out pattern hairpin) - once again a popular Meiwa/An’ei eras pin, with carved flowery motifs sticking out

平打簪 - hirauchi kanzashi (flat crest hairpin) - another well known metal pin (still seen nowadays though crest part is often smaller) which appeared around Bunka/Bunsei eras. It has a flat tab shaped as crest, which can be stamped, carved or cut out

琴柱簪 - kotoji kanzashi (koto bridge hairpin) - the typical “Edo era” hairpin, popular since Kan’en/Hôreki eras. The elegant name is pretty straight forward as it does look like an elongated koto bridge

Left column:

べつ甲花簪 - bekkô hana kanzashi (turtle shell flowers hairpin) - a striking style which appeared in Bunka era. It was first worn by (rich) young ladies for formal/celebratory events. It is now only worn by brides on their wedding day.

べつ甲足つなぎ簪 - bekkô ashitsunagi kanzashi (turtle shell linked prongs hairpin) - a sturdy pin thanks to its connected ends, it first appeared during Bunka/Bunsei eras.

大耳簪 - ômimi kanzashi (big ear​ hairpin) - also appeared during Bunka/Bunsei eras, the telling name comes from its large tab.Edo people used the top part of hairpins (the ‘ear’/tab) to clean wax from their ears (using them much like ear pick/ear spoons) so this could explain the name of this pin - too big to be actually used for this purposed.

玉簪 - tama kanzashi (beaded hairpin) - a pin which appeared in Bunsei era and remained steadily popular through the ages and well into nowadays. The bead was usually made from sango/coral, but many variations existed (like jade for ex, but also cheaper materials like died horn, glass, celluloid etc).

房飾り付花簪 - fusakazari tsukihana kanzashi (tasseled flower hairpin) - a big pin with cute fluttering ornament worn by young girls from late Edo to Meiji era.

銀製花簪 - ginsei hana kanzashi (silver flower hairpin) - gorgeous flowery hairpin made from costly silver, popular from late Edo to Meiji era. Rin doesn’t say anything about it, but I don’t think this could have been anything but a special ornament for formal wear ^^

びらびら簪 - birabira kanzashi (dangling hairpin) - a style well known by Maiko fans! Those fluttering metal pins were popular during late Edo and Meiji era, especially among “musume” (unmaried women, especially refering to fashionable city girls). The beads here are coral ones

Ichidome note - ichidome are small hairpins meant to hold (dome) into place the “tail” (ichi) part of some nihongami hairstyles:

笄タイプ - kôgai type also known 髷どめ wagedome (”chignon stop”) - those pins were used from late Edo to begining of Meiji. They were especially fashionable in Kyoto/Osaka, among girls who wore them with sakkô hairstyle (an hairdo now seen on maiko during their erikae)

ピンタイプ - pin type - if kôgai types were used in Kansai, if I understand Rin currectly, Edo (Tokyo) fashionistas prefered to wear only one part of the kôgai pinned into their hair - which then lead to those small pins designs

[adoomado]

[apartment315]

[koikishu]

Source: http://nihongami.blogspot.com/2018/09/blog-post_12.html

Japanese Hairstyles: Historical Overview Part 02: Women’s Hairstyles of the Edo Period, Part 03

Hairstyle Name: Otarai (おたらい) lit. “Honorable Washbasin”

     It is a kind of kougai-mage, and it makes a figure of eight in the hair of topknot and wraps the remaining hair tips around it. This hairstyle was popular among middle-aged women of the karyukai, such as geisha, Okami-san’s of teahouses, etc.

[tanuki-kimono]

笄 - Kôgai (hairsticks), handy chart by Edo lover Nadeshico Rin following the kushi/combs one.

Japanese people have pinned accessories in their hair for centuries (flowering branches for example). But kôgai hairsticks first had a very pratical use: they were needed to hold mage (chignon) up into place when women nihongami evolved from their previously down/loosely tied hairdo (垂髪 subeshigami styles). Their praticity differs from their counterpart, the kanzashi (hairpins) which are purely decorative.

It is also believed that kôgai as such evolved from an accessory carried by samurai alongside their swords nicknamed kamikaki (髪掻 hair scratcher) which was used to scratch ones head without disturbing the topknot. It is worth noting that during Edo period, such kôgai were seen as one of the “mitokoromono” (三所物 3 matching sword adornments), with the kozuka (small knife) and menuki (pair ornamental fittings for sword hilt).

Kôgai were first simply rod-type (棒笄 bô kôgai) and thread through the hair. They evolved eventually to 2 parts hairsticks (差し込み sashikomi type, one side plugin into the other), easier to put into intricate hairstyles.

As for Edo era hairstick types, you can see here from right to left, top to bottom (pins are more or less sorted chronologically):

Right column:

団扇形一本足簪 - uchiwagata ipponashi kanzashi (uchiwa shaped single prong hairpin) - appeared around Genroku/Kyôhô eras. Rin stresses that this one is normally labelled as kanzashi (=decorative hairpin, probably because of its round fan shaped end), but as it has only one prong, it is here part of the kôgai/hairstick family.

鶴足 の 笄 - tsuru ashi no kôgai (crane leg hairstick) - popular around 1680, the first pins were made from crane shin bones, a fine material at the time, as cranes are seen as auspicious birds in Japan

薄形べっ甲笄 - usugata bekkô kôgai (thin turtle shell hairstick) - appeared in first half of 18th century. This pin has one rounded tip narrower than the other, making insertion into the hair easier. Those were quite thin (around 1 to 3 mm thick)

しのぎ笄 - shinogi kôgai (blade ridge hairstick) - first seen between Kan’en and Meiwa eras. A kôgai hairstick which presents an “ear pick” tab and may have been used to clean wax from their ears (using them much like ear spoons). The name comes from the shape much alike 鎬 (ridges running along a blade)

光輪笄 - kôrin kôgai (Kôrin hairstick) - first one with openwork decors which appeared around Meiwa/An’ei eras. The patterns were inspired by works of famous painter Ogata Kôrin, and they were often part of a set with a matching comb (see comb chart)

楊枝笄 - yôji kôgai (skewer hairstick) - popular around Kan’en/Hôreki eras, its shape mimic a skewer used for eating moist food (like wagashi)

両端幅広笄 - ryôhashi habahiro kôgai (wide-ended hairstick) - the standard kôgai of mid Edo period. A bit longer than other types, it has rounded tips and a slightly thiner mid-portion

Left column:

中抜形笄 - nakanukigata kôgai (hollowed hairstick) - an unsual shape I didn’t know of, this stick had openwork forming hollowed ends

角太笄 - kakubuto kôgai (thick angled hairstick) - a sturdy early Edo stick (direct opposite of the thin usugata), in rectangular rod shape

蒔絵平角笄 - makie hirakaku kôgai (decorated lacquered flat angled hairstick) - a pretty kôgai, made from lacquered wood, decorated with makie (gold or silver dust designs)

両天差 - ryôtenzashi (double decors plug-in pin) - a metal pin from Bunka/Bunsei eras, with decorative ends. Ends could be taken off and then plugged back once kôgai into place

中差 - nakazashi (‘medium pin’, I am not sure how to translate its name) - popular during Tenpô era, it had a big “ear” tab

硝子中差 - garasu nakazashi (glass ‘middle pin’) - a glass “medium pin“ (see above). Glass was quite rare and precious then as it was a foreign good. Such items were very pricey and fragile.

両端象牙中紫檀笄 - ryôhashi zôge naka shitan kôgai (rosewood with ivory tips hairstick) - a lovely late Edo kôgai with large fanning ends made from ivory pluging into a rosewood center

杯型笄 - kinugata kôgai (cup shape hairstick) - appeared in late Edo, this kôgai made from ivory or turtle shell had separate left and right parts. It became widely spread as it was easy to use, and was the go-to kôgai shape after Meiji era.

________________________________________________

Following the kushi post, I received some questions about bekkô/shell material, so here is a recap of my answers ^^  

All the yellow drawings mimic items once made from bekkô/turtle shell, a very pricey and sought-after material (you can find here a memo Rin made).

During 20th century, accessories (like combs) started to also be made from celluloid/plastic as it costed way less.

Sea turtles being protected specie, shell trade is now illegal in most countries, and since 1994 Japan is theorically only using old stock shell for any new item crafted.

But reality is that this trade is shady af, so please be super careful if dealing with any real shell product in/from Japan :( (+ remember, real shell is super pricey even today, so any low cost ones are probably imitations)

[tanuki-kimono]

Fireflies glimmering among bamboos summer obi (also note the lovely sheer summer kimono). I like the kougai hairpin chosen as it kinda look like fireflies are also flying by the wearer’s hair. Very cute!

[koikishu]

Uemura kiichi on Instagram: “太夫 夕顔”

51 Likes, 1 Comments - Uemura kiichi (@uemurakiichi) on Instagram: “太夫 夕顔”

Japanese Hairstyles: Historical Overview Part 02: Women’s Hairstyles of the Edo Period, Part 03

Hairstyle Name: Tayuu Yuugao (太夫夕顔) lit. “Thick Husband Moon Flower” or “Thick Husband Bottle Gourd”

    This hairstyle is a type of kougai-mage and was worn by the Shimabara tayuu of Kyoto. The topknot of this style is roughly broken 4-5 intertwining loops of hair that are meant to resemble an opening moonflower.

[koikishu]

Japanese Hairstyles: Historical Overview Part 02: Women’s Hairstyles of the Edo Period, Part 03

Hairstyle Name: Sakikougai (先笄) lit. “Earlier Hairpin” //  Okaji (お梶) lit. “Honorable Rudder”

     This hairstyle was the hairstyle worn by women in the Kyoto-Osaka region as a sign of their newlywed wife status. Maiko of Kyoto and Osaka were also known to wear this hairstyle during the process of their erikae. This hairstyle was considered the equivalent of Tokyo’s Marumage (丸髷). The color of the twisted knot varied by age and came in colors like pink, light blue and mauve. In Kyoto and Osaka, it was a hairstyle considered both elegant and unique.