Japanese Women's Hairstyles Through the Ages

Shimada Mage - Tied-back hair with a large comb on top, c. 1750-1868

Print by Koryusa Ilsoda, c. 1772-1780

Library of Congress, no restrictions

Here is a much larger, more elaborate version of the shimada mage, from the late Edo Period.

The top hair is threaded back through a huge comb, and the back is held together with a series of hair-sticks and ribbons. The completed structure must have been very heavy!

This particular illustration is from about 1772 to 1780.

• Kepatsu - Hair Bound with a Red String, c. 600 A.D.
• Taregami - Long, Straight Hair, c. 794 -1345
• Shimada Mage - Tied-back hair with a comb on top, c. 1650-1780
• Shimada Mage - Tied-back hair with a large comb on top, c. 1750-1868
• Box Shimada Mage - Tied-back hair with a box at back, c. 1750-1868
• Vertical Mage - Hair piled on top, with a comb in front, 1790s
• Yoko-hyogo - Mountains of hair on top with wings on the sides, late Edo Period
• Gikei - Two topknots and many hair tools, Edo Period c. 1804-1808
• Maru Mage - Huge, waxed bun with a bincho spreader, 18th -19th centuries
• Osuberakashi - Simple tied-back hair, with a high front, c. 1850-1912