Tokoyama

A tokoyama (床山) is a traditional Japanese hairdresser specializing in the theatrical arts (kabuki and bunraku) and professional sumo. The tokoyama trade is the result of a slow evolution from the traditional Japanese barbers of the Edo period, some of whom gradually started to specialize in hairstyles of actors, puppets, and rikishi. The word tokoyama uses a Japanese character meaning 'floor', because in the Edo period barbers had shops on simple raised floors.^[1][2]

Tokoyama use a variety of traditional techniques and tools, mainly combs, spikes and strings, to style the hair after oiling it. Although tokoyama maintain the use of techniques inherited from the Edo period, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a traditional practice with the gradual disappearance of the craftsmen producing the oils and tools needed for traditional hairdressing.

Tokoyama maintain close relationships with those whose hair they arrange, often assigned to the particular service of a small group of people. In kabuki, this relationship leads the tokoyama to choose a specialization that will lead them to follow only actors dedicated to a particular style of acting. In bunraku, the hairdressers carry out the decisions of stewards who choose the hairstyles. In sumo, tokoyama are seen as essential elements of the sport, helping to maintain its traditional appearance.