Recreating Ukiyo-e Hairstyles

They were the beautiful people of Edo-period Japan, the courtesans, geisha, and actors depicted in the ukiyo-e paintings of the 17th through 19th century. The world they moved in, the “floating world” (ukiyo), was all about glamour, sophistication, and style. The fashions they wore reflected not only class and occupation but also trends and individual taste, all of which were focused on the attempt to create an ideal picture of beauty. It’s no accident that the artists represented in “Painting the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Masterpieces from the Weston Collection“ applied their skills to capturing every beautiful aspect. Though the overall look of each individual bijin (beauty) was created by the combination of cosmetics, clothing, and hairstyle, the video below focuses on the complicated process and elaborate result of hairstyling. Filmed in a shrine in near Kyoto, the 90-year-old Minami Tomiko, one of the few living masters of the art, recreates three intricate hairstyles: Kamome tabo o