Long hair- Symbolism in Heian Society! Quite interesting.

[loveandwaves]

I just love reading descriptions of long hair in literature and songs, and learning about the symbolism of long hair in different cultures and across history.

Today, completely out of nowhere (I don't even remember what I was searching when I came across this) I happen to stumble on a website talking about The Tale of Genji, which is a novel about courtly life in medieval Japan.

But here's the bit I found so interesting about the Heian society it describes:

"Heian gentleman were not very interested in a woman's physical beauty and rarely had an opportunity to see it. The only physical attribute of interest was a woman's hair, which had to be thick and longer than she was tall. The fascination with long hair was one reason why a woman's becoming a nun was regarded with such seriousness - it could never again grow to its full length. This explains why Genji refuses to let Murasaki (his de facto wife in the Tale) take the tonsure when she is ill."

I don't know why, but when I read stuff like this, it really makes me go !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Google "heian women" of course, and they are beautiful! Always depicted with very long hair, "longer than they are tall", just like it says above: (now let me attempt to attach a photo) :

http://www.iz2.or.jp/fukusyoku/wayou/images/19-b.gif

[Avital88]

oh i googled it and it is very interesting.
The clothes they were wearing together with the super long hair must have been a bit heavy though

[PixxieStix]

How very interesting. I love learning about different cultures and what they valued, and the long hair thing certainly hits home here. :) I'd feel really bad for a woman in that society though who had a short terminal length. Eek!

[HintOfMint]

What an amazing description!

Also, off topic, but your avatar pic is gorgeous, where is it from?

[Amber_Maiden]

Very interesting!! Wow.

[Sillage]

I wonder how they cared for such impressively long hair... Liz Dalby says

"The single most important attribute of a woman's beauty in Murasaki's day was her hair. Longer than her height, trailing down her back, abundant lacquer-black hair was a woman's main beauty asset. She washed it once, perhaps twice, a year using the "white water" (shiromizu) in which rice had been soaked. Her daily hair care consisted of combing it out, sometimes applying camellia-nut oil or almond oil to it. She might also drape her hair over burning incense to perfume it. Combing one another's hair seems to have been a favorite activity for women living together in one household. Hair was also infused with erotic overtones in the relations between the sexes."

You can read the rest of her article about Heian beauty practices here (http://www.lizadalby.com/LD/TofM_cosmet.html)

And I also want to know where you avatar pic is from, Loveandwaves!

[Long_hair_bear]

Lucky them to live in a culture where super long hair is valued! :)

[loveandwaves]

your avatar pic is gorgeous, where is it from?

Thank you so much! I found this avatar picture back in July 2011 when I joined the site, and for the life of me I can not remember where I got it from! :confused: I don't even have it saved on my computer anymore, which is why you'll never see me change my avatar, haha


I wonder how they cared for such impressively long hair... Liz Dalby says

"The single most important attribute of a woman's beauty in Murasaki's day was her hair. Longer than her height, trailing down her back, abundant lacquer-black hair was a woman's main beauty asset. She washed it once, perhaps twice, a year using the "white water" (shiromizu) in which rice had been soaked. Her daily hair care consisted of combing it out, sometimes applying camellia-nut oil or almond oil to it. She might also drape her hair over burning incense to perfume it. Combing one another's hair seems to have been a favorite activity for women living together in one household. Hair was also infused with erotic overtones in the relations between the sexes."

You can read the rest of her article about Heian beauty practices here (http://www.lizadalby.com/LD/TofM_cosmet.html)

Oh my! Thank you so much for posting this, the site is so interesting. So "White water" shiromizu... hmm, I can't seem to find anything more about it! If anyone does come across more information, please post!

Also, camellia-nut oil and almond oil; I've never tried either of them.

[Arya]

oh i googled it and it is very interesting.
The clothes they were wearing together with the super long hair must have been a bit heavy though
It's a sign of aristocracy. You're not working in the fields if you're wearing heavy silk gowns and have 6 foot long hair.

But their silky clothing was very protective of their hair. The outer layer dragged behind and didn't move much to cause tangles, and the fabric itself was gentle on hair.

[BritHair]

Very beautiful hair but those eye brows have gotta go..... It makes their face look so off balance. Very interesting though.

[loveandwaves]

Very beautiful hair but those eye brows have gotta go..... It makes their face look so off balance. Very interesting though.

Well, the fact that they blackened their teeth as well balanced everything out!

"One other beauty essential was blackening the teeth. In the thirteenth century aristocratic men copied this custom, but in Murasaki's day only women did it. In fact, the custom of tooth-blackening for women persisted right up until the late nineteenth century, by which time it had become a mark of adulthood—something a woman did when she married. But in Murasaki's time it did not have this meaning and was purely a cosmetic effect. The teeth were stained by applying a concoction of oxidized iron filings steeped in something acidic, and the smelly mixture had to be re-applied every few days or the teeth would revert to white. It must have been something like the necessity today of redoing one's manicure."

[loveandwaves]

Very beautiful hair but those eye brows have gotta go..... It makes their face look so off balance. Very interesting though.

Well, the fact that they blackened their teeth as well balanced everything out! :smirk:

"One other beauty essential was blackening the teeth. In the thirteenth century aristocratic men copied this custom, but in Murasaki's day only women did it. In fact, the custom of tooth-blackening for women persisted right up until the late nineteenth century, by which time it had become a mark of adulthood—something a woman did when she married. But in Murasaki's time it did not have this meaning and was purely a cosmetic effect. The teeth were stained by applying a concoction of oxidized iron filings steeped in something acidic, and the smelly mixture had to be re-applied every few days or the teeth would revert to white. It must have been something like the necessity today of redoing one's manicure."

[jacqueline101]

I found it to be interesting.

[loveandwaves]

It's a sign of aristocracy. You're not working in the fields if you're wearing heavy silk gowns and have 6 foot long hair.

But their silky clothing was very protective of their hair. The outer layer dragged behind and didn't move much to cause tangles, and the fabric itself was gentle on hair.

Just wanted to add this in as well:

"Juuni-hitoe was a formal dress for noble women in Heian period and it is designed to protect their super long hair from friction with floor."

Source: http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~longhair/international/heian_e.html

PS: Sorry for the double post above everyone; it was an accident and I don't know how to remove it :confused: lol

[cwarren]

But their silky clothing was very protective of their hair. The outer layer dragged behind and didn't move much to cause tangles, and the fabric itself was gentle on hair.

It must be nice to display your hair length and not have to worry about it being damaged by what you're wearing. They never had to bother with protective styling!

[Macaroni]

I wonder how they cared for such impressively long hair... Liz Dalby says

"The single most important attribute of a woman's beauty in Murasaki's day was her hair. Longer than her height, trailing down her back, abundant lacquer-black hair was a woman's main beauty asset. She washed it once, perhaps twice, a year using the "white water" (shiromizu) in which rice had been soaked. Her daily hair care consisted of combing it out, sometimes applying camellia-nut oil or almond oil to it. She might also drape her hair over burning incense to perfume it. Combing one another's hair seems to have been a favorite activity for women living together in one household. Hair was also infused with erotic overtones in the relations between the sexes."

You can read the rest of her article about Heian beauty practices here (http://www.lizadalby.com/LD/TofM_cosmet.html)

And I also want to know where you avatar pic is from, Loveandwaves!

Thank you for the link, it looks interesting.

Is anyone else squicked out by the fact that they only washed their hair once or twice a year?

[styric]

Thank you for the link, it looks interesting.

Is anyone else squicked out by the fact that they only washed their hair once or twice a year?

No worse than SO practiced here :)

[Sillage]

Is anyone else squicked out by the fact that they only washed their hair once or twice a year?


YES. Not trying to offend the NW/SO contingent but I just can't imagine washing that infrequently. My scalp would be so busted and nasty.

[Othala]

Is anyone else squicked out by the fact that they only washed their hair once or twice a year?

Yes, me. EEEEEEK!

[Johanna]

I like the idea of perfuming the hair with incense. Its sounds like it would be nice smelling but not overwhelming. It reminds me of reading Victorian era hair care where the ladies put oils in the hair and sat in the sun to air the hair out completely.

[heidi w.]

oh i googled it and it is very interesting.
The clothes they were wearing together with the super long hair must have been a bit heavy though

A tangle of robes and hair. I'd feel suffocated!
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Apparently the historical record from the Heian Period in Japan, comes to us, somewhat, from the Chinese recordings. There may be a certain amount of bias present with the underlying belief being something regarding the idea that Japanese culture was less sophisticated, somehow, than Chinese society. They report that during the Heian period, most accounts are regarding court life. Apparently much less is known regarding women outside of court life, such as the country people. Also, Buddhism seemed to have changed a bit during this period.

Interesting reading, for sure. I have a book concerning Japenese life of women in perhaps prior to the 1920s and somewhat into the 1920s. It has a ton of artwork from literature of the time, and really focuses on the lives of women.

Apparently the Chinese accounts say that in Japan there were women who ruled, women who led religious ceremonies, and stuff like that.

heidi w.

[Arya]

Apparently the historical record from the Heian Period in Japan, comes to us, somewhat, from the Chinese recordings. There may be a certain amount of bias present with the underlying belief being something regarding the idea that Japanese culture was less sophisticated, somehow, than Chinese society. They report that during the Heian period, most accounts are regarding court life. Apparently much less is known regarding women outside of court life, such as the country people. Also, Buddhism seemed to have changed a bit during this period.

Interesting reading, for sure. I have a book concerning Japenese life of women in perhaps prior to the 1920s and somewhat into the 1920s. It has a ton of artwork from literature of the time, and really focuses on the lives of women.

Apparently the Chinese accounts say that in Japan there were women who ruled, women who led religious ceremonies, and stuff like that.

heidi w.
There were quite a few women authors from the Heian period. Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji, and Sei Shonagon wrote The Pillow Book. The Iroha, or the original ordering of the japanese syllabary in the form of a poem was also written during this time. It was a pretty flourishing time for Japanese literature.

[Unicorn]

Apparently the historical record from the Heian Period in Japan, comes to us, somewhat, from the Chinese recordings. There may be a certain amount of bias present with the underlying belief being something regarding the idea that Japanese culture was less sophisticated, somehow, than Chinese society. They report that during the Heian period, most accounts are regarding court life. Apparently much less is known regarding women outside of court life, such as the country people. Also, Buddhism seemed to have changed a bit during this period.

Interesting reading, for sure. I have a book concerning Japenese life of women in perhaps prior to the 1920s and somewhat into the 1920s. It has a ton of artwork from literature of the time, and really focuses on the lives of women.

Apparently the Chinese accounts say that in Japan there were women who ruled, women who led religious ceremonies, and stuff like that.

heidi w.
There is an ongoing cultural 'feud' between the Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese claim that the Chinese are a corser unsophisticated nation. The Chinese of course saying the same of the Japanese.

Many writings of either from the opposing camp should be viewed under the 'consider the source' banner.

Unicorn

[mira-chan]

Much of the information on the Heian era culture came from noble women's writing of the time. Men were supposed to write mostly in Chinese, books and official things that would be copies and passed down. Women on the other hand used the phonetic writing. They copied it for themselves and others in collections.

The clothing was pretty heavy, the pants they wore were generally past their feet and dragged behind them. So they walked by shuffling or crawled along the room floor. The nobles weren't very mobile in general but women especially so.

I've recreated a lightly less formal version at one point.
Former signature with part of it, I'm just wearing the top loosely worn layers, not all the underlayers or the long pants:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/avatar-sig/heian.jpg

They did wash their hair twice a year. That was a full length wash in rice water and azuki bean coarse flour. This was done on days considered very auspicious. Between the washes they combed their hair a lot with camellia oil.

ETA: Friend in full outfit/
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/cosplay/IMG_0682.jpg
Excuse the Heian naughtiness, I didn't want to show faces. :silly:

[Othala]

mira-chan, I love the gracefulness in the first photograph and the mystery (what are they talking about?) in the second.

Thank you for sharing both these delightful photos.

[ladycaladium]

We were discussing this earlier this semester in my Japanese literature class. The long hair, eyebrows and blackened teeth were mentioned in several works we read.

Nice photos mira-chan.

[Shinitori]

The thought of never cutting one's hair is amazing. I bet their hair was soft and well cared for. That much brushing would make it beyond shiny~!

[RapunzelKat]

Much of the information on the Heian era culture came from noble women's writing of the time. Men were supposed to write mostly in Chinese, books and official things that would be copies and passed down. Women on the other hand used the phonetic writing. They copied it for themselves and others in collections.

The clothing was pretty heavy, the pants they wore were generally past their feet and dragged behind them. So they walked by shuffling or crawled along the room floor. The nobles weren't very mobile in general but women especially so.

I've recreated a lightly less formal version at one point.
Former signature with part of it, I'm just wearing the top loosely worn layers, not all the underlayers or the long pants:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/avatar-sig/heian.jpg

They did wash their hair twice a year. That was a full length wash in rice water and azuki bean coarse flour. This was done on days considered very auspicious. Between the washes they combed their hair a lot with camellia oil.

ETA: Friend in full outfit/
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/cosplay/IMG_0682.jpg
Excuse the Heian naughtiness, I didn't want to show faces. :silly:

Wow, how did I miss these great photos? They are lovely mira-chan, thank you for sharing! :)

[sfgirl]

I don't find it surprising, people in general used to be shorter, and even 100 years ago the japanese were a lot shorter than Americans (although it's about evened out almost). If you're four foot something, or even five foot one, it's easier to grow hair to the floor than it would be for a woman of five eight.
It's still amazing, though I'm happy I live in a time when beauty and worth are not the same as my hair length. :)