Hi all, Eishi here! Hope you are doing well!
I have decided to write a blog article everyday at least until the end of the lockdown, so here is another one!!!
During the Edo period (1603-1868), the society was very male-dominant in Japan, and nearly all women were completely dependent on their husbands.
However, there was definitely one option that enabled women to make a full-time living without relying on their… ahem… lousy husbands. It was the art of hairdressing or kamiyui (かみゆい 髪結).
They of course cut their clients’ hair, but styling was a big part of their job as people of Edo often had rather complex hairstyles 🙂
Their top clients were courtesans at red light districts, and they also visited individual homes to provide their hairdressing services.
Because of the complicated hairdos people had, hairdressers were in high demand, so women in this profession made a good living.
Because of this, the expression “hairdresser’s husband” (かみゆいのていしゅ 髪結の亭主) was born. As you can guess, it meant a man who was financially dependent on his wife/ partner.
In my opinion, female hairdressers were the feminist heroes of Edo!
Actually… Himiko, the first leader of Japan was a woman, but let’s save this topic for another post.
Have a fantastic day, everybody!!!