Japanese Folk Story and Hair Art

[Bill D.]

I just found this amazing artwork (http://www.kagayastudio.com/starry/kaguya-hyme/index.html) by the Japanese artist Kagaya which depicts Kaguya-hime, the moon princess from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter). Another, more conventional depiction of the princess is shown here (http://jzool-prd.s3.amazonaws.com/img/15813/m.jpg?1318397111). Her story connects to Mt. Fuji itself, and the emperor's reaction to her return to the moon is said to be the basis for the kanji character for this mountain.

Both depictions show Kagaya-hime in the Heian-period hairstyle of loose beyond-floor-length hair worn by Japanese ladies of the nobility at that time. I believe that all the other depictions I've seen of Heian-era female hair show it kept off the ground by trailing garments or other cloth. The painting by Kagaya with Kaguya-hime's hair trailing across a wooden deck outdoors would seem to be rather fanciful in this regard, fitting for the art style and for a tale that has been called the first science-fiction story.

Bill D.

[spidermom]

I have a book of Japanese fairy tales, and the drawings/paintings all have lovely long hair on women.

[Bill D.]

I have a book of Japanese fairy tales, and the drawings/paintings all have lovely long hair on women.

That style was typical of the noblewomen of the Heian period, running from 794 to 1185. Later periods had increasingly elaborate updos more along the lines of what we think of as traditional formal Japanese women's styles. I don't know what commoners were doing with their hair during these various periods, though.

Bill D.

[~honeyflower~]

That was a good story, I really liked it :)

[Unicorn]

Thanks for posting Bill,those are amazing art pieces and I love the story.

Unicorn

[BlueMajorelle]

I have a Japanese friend, she's got such lovely long, beautiful, glossy black hair. I think Japanese women just have fabulous genetics, but they also are really good at taking care of their hair. I did some research in college on Japanese culture, and I know that some wore wigs. Geiko specifically. Maiko wore their own hair in elaborate styles but by the time they became geiko their hair was often so damaged by all the pulling and hot wax they HAD to wear wigs to pull off the more intricate styles. I'm wondering if many noble women in that time period wore wigs as well?