man bun
- Thread starter Unclebaldrick
- Start date
abe supercro
Well-Known Member
Originally, the knot or bun of hair, known as 髷 mage (pronounced MAH GEH), was a method for some samurai to to keep their helmets straight. Note that the 丁髷chonmage was not simply the bun but was also the constant maintenance and shaving of all the hair on the front of the head up until the top center of the head, where the bun/knot would be.
Long hair was the default hairstyle for the average Japanese person but for warriors, having a standard hair style where most of the hair was shaved helped armorers and quartermasters in standardizing helmets to fit tight, to an extent.
The knots/buns portion of the chonmage would generally be only in contact with the helmet at the very top and maybe just a bit toward the back. Everything else would be flush with the mostly shaved head. The bun, done properly (and with enough hair) would usually have enough density to be a fairly stationary thing, giving the helmet stability.
And helmets were padded, to varying degrees. They were shaped around thechonmage and both would have fit well together. The idea was that the chonmage would keep the helmet in place better than a simply bald head as well as help absorb impacts to the top of the head.
Finally, it should be noted that hair loss/lack of hair was taken into consideration. Particularly older gentlemen (like major warlords), when wearing helmets, would have had different padding as well as different mage, making one out of what hair they had due to naturally receding hairlines and male pattern baldness.
The most important factor for the various mage throughout Japanese history however, would be their use as a class symbol, really beginning in earnest during the Edo Period, when classes were set in stone by laws and heavy policing.
During the Edo Period, only those who belonged to the warrior class could wear mage and it was a privilege to be able to do so, similar to being allowed to carry swords. It became a point of manners and custom to do so more than any martial application.
By the Meiji Period however, all soldiers and government officials were ordered to cut their hair short in the Western style. Soon it applied to all men (with the exception of sumo).
This was part of the rapid modernization efforts and one of the foreign policy efforts of the new government to be accepted among their European and American peers as quickly as possible, for a whole slew of reasons. Long hair was one of the things that observers in Japan, China, etc found disdainful of Asian men, even though it was one of the most important parts of the body/spirit in Confucianism.
Also, quick side note, it should be mentioned that there were many types of mage, For example the mage that sumo wear today are nothing like the chonmage of the Sengoku Period. The most common sumo mage from our time are called 銀杏髷ichoumage, named after the ginko leaf because of the shape.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2zm41h/did_the_samurai_top_knot_have_a_practical_purpose/
@Unclebaldrick
Long hair was the default hairstyle for the average Japanese person but for warriors, having a standard hair style where most of the hair was shaved helped armorers and quartermasters in standardizing helmets to fit tight, to an extent.
The knots/buns portion of the chonmage would generally be only in contact with the helmet at the very top and maybe just a bit toward the back. Everything else would be flush with the mostly shaved head. The bun, done properly (and with enough hair) would usually have enough density to be a fairly stationary thing, giving the helmet stability.
And helmets were padded, to varying degrees. They were shaped around thechonmage and both would have fit well together. The idea was that the chonmage would keep the helmet in place better than a simply bald head as well as help absorb impacts to the top of the head.
Finally, it should be noted that hair loss/lack of hair was taken into consideration. Particularly older gentlemen (like major warlords), when wearing helmets, would have had different padding as well as different mage, making one out of what hair they had due to naturally receding hairlines and male pattern baldness.
The most important factor for the various mage throughout Japanese history however, would be their use as a class symbol, really beginning in earnest during the Edo Period, when classes were set in stone by laws and heavy policing.
During the Edo Period, only those who belonged to the warrior class could wear mage and it was a privilege to be able to do so, similar to being allowed to carry swords. It became a point of manners and custom to do so more than any martial application.
By the Meiji Period however, all soldiers and government officials were ordered to cut their hair short in the Western style. Soon it applied to all men (with the exception of sumo).
This was part of the rapid modernization efforts and one of the foreign policy efforts of the new government to be accepted among their European and American peers as quickly as possible, for a whole slew of reasons. Long hair was one of the things that observers in Japan, China, etc found disdainful of Asian men, even though it was one of the most important parts of the body/spirit in Confucianism.
Also, quick side note, it should be mentioned that there were many types of mage, For example the mage that sumo wear today are nothing like the chonmage of the Sengoku Period. The most common sumo mage from our time are called 銀杏髷ichoumage, named after the ginko leaf because of the shape.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2zm41h/did_the_samurai_top_knot_have_a_practical_purpose/
@Unclebaldrick
