combs

That girl at twenty --
her black hair ripples
through the comb
in the pride of spring --
such beauty!

(sono ko hatachi kushini nagaruru kurokami no ogori no haru no utsukushiki kana)

A thousand lines
Of black black hair
All tangles, tangles --
And tangles too
My thoughts of love!


(Kurokami no sensuji no kamino midaregami katsuomoi midare omoi midaruru)

Yosano Akiko

"Buy me a Kyoto comb, yes,
a Kyoto comb!
Yes, a Kyoto comb
to make my hair sleek!"
"I've bought you a comb.
Comb your hair, girl.
Your hair, longer than you're tall,
your long hair, look! as you walk
it gets tangled in your sandals."

Anon., tr Hiroaki Sato,
Burton Watson


I will not comb my morning hair:
Your loving arm, my pillow,
Has lain under it.

Anon. tr Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai Committee


A dreary feeling

in a spring night

It's hard to shake off

I comb my long hair

Until my heart�'s content

Yosano Akiko





today's post was inspired by a very inspiring blog i happened across yesterday, leafed through from "cover to cover," and then went off doing research all day (when i wasn't photographing dragonflies). it's comprehensive, it's fascinating, and it's here.

A WOMAN'S HAIR IS HER LIFE:
JAPANESE COMBS AND HAIR ORNAMENTS

A Jap- an- ese comb is about much more than just styling hair. Four hundred years ago, Japan took the simple comb and transformed it into an elegant beauty accessory that became a work of art. Japanese kushi (combs) and kanzashi (hairpins) became expressions of a woman's character, social class, religion, and even what neighbourhood she lived in. They also revealed whether she was married or not, her age, and whether she had any children. According to an ancient Japanese proverb, �'A woman�'s hair is her life,' (Kami wa onna no inochi) and from the early 1600�s until the beginning of the modern era, decorative combs and hairpins have been an important part of Japanese fashion.

Western style jewelry such as rings, necklaces and bracelets was not worn in Japan until the modern era. Instead, women decorated their hair. Hair ornaments became important family heirlooms that were handed down from generation to generation, and in Kyoto, when a comb eventually wore out or was broken, it was saved until the Kompira Kushi Matsuri (Kyoto Comb Festival) and taken to a temple where prayers were said for its spirit, after which it was burned in a purifying ritual fire. 1