Nihongami

'Japanese hair') is the term used for a number of traditional Japanese hairstyles considered to be distinctive in their construction and societal role.

Hair styled in this manner was typically restyled weekly, and in some cases would necessitate sleeping on a pillow raised from the floor, known as a takamakura.

One such hairstyle that developed during the Edo period was the shimada, which was commonly worn by girls in their late teenage years.

[2] The tōrōbin shimada experienced wide popularity, and was commonly depicted in ukiyo-e prints by artists such as Utamaro.

[3] The hair is then styled using traditional boxwood or bamboo combs (known as tsuge gushi and togushi respectively),[4] and is kept in place with the addition of wax, the thickness of which varies based on factors such as weather and humidity.

[1] Separate hair combs, featuring small, short teeth, are used to gently touch up the hairstyle once styled, keeping it free from dirt and dust.

Post-WWII, geisha began to wear wigs (known as katsura) instead of styling their own hair, a trend which continues to this day.

This style of shimada, worn by older women in previous centuries, is the flattest form of the shimada, with the mage pushed relatively far back off the head, appearing somewhat squashed with the usually-open loop of the mage crushed to form two smaller, tighter loops of hair.

Some nihongami are particular to a certain district or event; for instance, maiko from Gion Kobu wear a special hairstyle for the Miyako Odori.

The wareshinobu is worn for a maiko's formal debut, known as misedashi, where it is also decorated with formal kanzashi made of tortoiseshell, silver and red miokuri (dangling silver strips placed underneath the mage), and two bira bira ("fluttering" or "dangling") kanzashi.