Fridayknight
First Post
Last time I posted here I was talking about doing writing as a career (some of you may remember) and a helpful soul advised that I do some writing practice (especially over my huge summer holiday) on a variety of topics.
This is how the thread will work; once per day I will post a short piece of writing on a subject or anything. The next person to post then suggests a next topic (so I have a continuation of topics to write on) and so on.
Any advice is appreciated and please understand that I may not know about your topic and therefore my knowledge will be drawn from internet sources (cough wikipedia).
Now, on to my first topic in informative style, Tokoyamas - the Japanese sumo hairdresser.
The Tokoyamas are an old tradition in the Sumo wrestling sport. The most common, and most ancient, of said hairstyles is the Chonmage. This involves the pulling back of the Sumo's hair into a top-knot that starts about 4 inches from the hairline. The hair is then oiled and tied with a small hair-band.
The other style of hair, worn by the most senior Sumo-wrestlers (these must be in the top 140 wrestlers in Japan), is the oichomage - the large ginkgo leaf top-knot. This is similar to the Chonmage except that the hair is spiked up into a small frill before the top-knot. This is much harder to sculpt as the frill must be a perfect semi-circle and should be able to withstand the rigours of a fight therefore only the best Tokoyamas are allowed to craft this hair.
For the wrestlers in particular the hairstyle is not a fashion arrangement but it shows the tradition of their profession and the length of their hair shows how long they have been wrestlers.Indeed those who manage to lose enough hair that they may not form the hairstyle are permanently forbidden from wrestling.
This is most unusual in the cosmopolitan cities of Japan and this long hair is a symbol of their employment and pride as all but the sumotoris (sumo-wrestlers) had to cut their hair short by the empirical order of 1868. The sumotoris were allowed to keep their hair as it was said to shield them from blows and because all sumos are male (as well as being very talented and entertaining).
The Tokoyamas themselves are therefore important as they are the master craftsmen of the hair. There are six rankings of Tokoyama, from 5-to (apprentice) to tuko-to (master), and this profession is an act of art and perseverance as it takes 10 years to advance from 4-to to 3-to. After this it may take another 35 years of practice to reach the highest level, with many of these spent not being able to try themselves but as helpers.
Thanks very much in advance and I hope you learned something, I definitely did.
This is how the thread will work; once per day I will post a short piece of writing on a subject or anything. The next person to post then suggests a next topic (so I have a continuation of topics to write on) and so on.
Any advice is appreciated and please understand that I may not know about your topic and therefore my knowledge will be drawn from internet sources (cough wikipedia).
Now, on to my first topic in informative style, Tokoyamas - the Japanese sumo hairdresser.
The Tokoyamas are an old tradition in the Sumo wrestling sport. The most common, and most ancient, of said hairstyles is the Chonmage. This involves the pulling back of the Sumo's hair into a top-knot that starts about 4 inches from the hairline. The hair is then oiled and tied with a small hair-band.
The other style of hair, worn by the most senior Sumo-wrestlers (these must be in the top 140 wrestlers in Japan), is the oichomage - the large ginkgo leaf top-knot. This is similar to the Chonmage except that the hair is spiked up into a small frill before the top-knot. This is much harder to sculpt as the frill must be a perfect semi-circle and should be able to withstand the rigours of a fight therefore only the best Tokoyamas are allowed to craft this hair.
For the wrestlers in particular the hairstyle is not a fashion arrangement but it shows the tradition of their profession and the length of their hair shows how long they have been wrestlers.Indeed those who manage to lose enough hair that they may not form the hairstyle are permanently forbidden from wrestling.
This is most unusual in the cosmopolitan cities of Japan and this long hair is a symbol of their employment and pride as all but the sumotoris (sumo-wrestlers) had to cut their hair short by the empirical order of 1868. The sumotoris were allowed to keep their hair as it was said to shield them from blows and because all sumos are male (as well as being very talented and entertaining).
The Tokoyamas themselves are therefore important as they are the master craftsmen of the hair. There are six rankings of Tokoyama, from 5-to (apprentice) to tuko-to (master), and this profession is an act of art and perseverance as it takes 10 years to advance from 4-to to 3-to. After this it may take another 35 years of practice to reach the highest level, with many of these spent not being able to try themselves but as helpers.
Thanks very much in advance and I hope you learned something, I definitely did.