Kimono by Liza Dalby
“In the sixteenth century, the nobility ceased to be the
sole source of fashion inspiration. Playgirls (asobime) – multitalented, trendy
ladies who led rather public lives (sometimes glossed as ‘courtesans’) – wore
their kosode belted with long tasseled silk cords. The cords, called Nogoya
obi, were woven according to a style then popular in China, roped about the
hips six or seven times, and tied in a looping bow.” (Dalby 37)
“Playgirls also did their hair into Chinese chignons,
initiating a fashion for women to put up their hair. In previous ages, men had
been the ones to oil and arrange their tresses. Women had favored long straight
locks, or perhaps a simple ponytail.” (Dalby 37)
“Late Edo fashion for women was undeniably restrictive. […] Hairstyles for women had developed into the elaborate
comb-studded coiffures familiar from woodblock prints. With such a coiled oiled
structure on her head, a woman couldn’t even sleep freely. Finally, the
practice of applying lead- and mercury-based whitening cosmetics, originally a
custom limited to the noblility, had now spread into common popularity. By the
nineteenth century, being fashionable was truly hazardous to a Japanese woman’s
health.” (Dalby 50)