Flower Kanzashi, Silk Wind - Yoshiwara, Edo period, 1780-1850

Flower Kanzashi, Silk Wind - Yoshiwara, Edo period, 1780-1850
The prostitutes of Yoshiwara competed with each other in chic and beauty, despite the strict status codes imposed on their hairstyles and even their costumes. Their appearance was not mere decoration, but a mirror of their social status and culture. The higher-ranking prostitutes, such as oiran (courtesans) and tayu (courtesans), wore their hair in gorgeous coiffures and gorgeous costumes, and became symbols of Edo culture as the pinnacle of beauty, coveted by townspeople and warriors.

There were different hairstyles for different ranks, such as the tatehyo for courtesans and the katsuyama topknot for the shinzo, a lower rank. The tate-hyogo style was popular because of its luxuriousness, which could be seen from a distance, with multiple hairpins and Kougai hairpins inserted into the hair tied up high. The hair was tied by a hair stylist, a skilled craftsman, who spent several hours in the morning shaping the hair and applying oil to make it shiny. The fragrance of the hair oil, called "Bintsuke Abura" (hair oil), was especially well known among the townspeople as a symbolic smell of Yoshiwara.

Costumes were like stage costumes that reflected the class and the season. High-ranking courtesans wore a gold brocade kimono with seasonal designs such as cherry blossoms and autumn leaves at the hem. Peonies and cherry blossoms in spring, morning glories in summer, autumn leaves in fall, and snowflakes in winter. These designs reflected not only the aesthetic sense of flowers, birds, wind, and the moon, but also the wit and culture of the prostitutes themselves.

In the late Edo period, the fashion for costumes spread from Yoshiwara. The patterns of hair ornaments, obi knots, and kosode were called Yoshiwara-style among the common people, and women imitated these designs. The brothel attire drove the town's fashion and also influenced Kabuki stage costumes. Yoshiwara was truly the center of fashion and the design center of Edo culture.

At the same time, this glamor was also a symbol of discipline. Each brothel had its own standard of dress, and prostitutes were obliged to dress according to this standard. In this interplay of free fashion and institutional restrictions, these women expressed their sense of beauty within a limited range.

Yoshiwara hairstyles and costumes were not mere attire, but structural cultural devices that reflected Edo society itself. There was the beauty of women as an art form that bloomed within the framework of the feudal order.