Nihongami: Wear A Traditional Japanese Hairstyle
Hairsylist to maiko and geiko!
Embody the spirit of Kyoto with a traditional Japanese hairstyle. Nihongami, or traditional Japanese hairstyles, are hairstyles popularized in the Edo period (1603-1868).
Creativity pursued in Edo as a range of hairstyles--as many as 280--were prevalent. Categorized into four main types: Hyogo, Shimada, Katsuyama and Kogai, the hairstyles required considerable expense and skill to master. As such most women had their hair styled weekly and slept on special pillows, called takamakura, to maintain the style until their next salon visit.
Nihongami are embellished with hair accessories, and depending on the hairstyle and accessories used, the wearer's age, social class, marital status and occupation could be deduced.
In transforming from a feudal ruling systems to western-style military ruling systems, a proclamation by the Japanese government was issued in 1871, officially allowing people to choose their own hairstyles. A push to adopt and popularize simpler, western hairstyles then ensued.
As such, Nihongami fell out of fashion and is no longer commonly worn. Today, the aesthetic is worn by entertainers such as maiko, geisha, sumo wrestlers and high ranking courtesans and by non-entertainer women having traditional Japanese weddings on her wedding day.
In this exclusive Nichome Connect experience, you will have the opportunity to have your hair styled styled in a traditional machiya located near a sacred shrine by a veteran hairstylist who, to this day, both styles the hair and dresses in kimono Kyoto's beloved maiko and geiko.
Choose from a traditional nihongami hairstyle, a modern take on nihongami or an elegant updo.
What You'll Do
(130 USD per pers)Visit 2-3 modern Japanese tea houses--based on your interests, dietary restrictions and number of guests.
After completing a questionnaire, we will provide recommendations, while you decide what suits your pallete.
The tea houses can be the ones pictured on this website, or we can recommend others.
Once decided, while in transit to each tea house, you will learn about the neighborhoods visited and history of the sweets served.
What's Included
The cost of the set menu at each tea house.
What's Not Included
Any transportation costs between tea houses
Anything your order in addition to the set menu
Guest Requirements
Guests are required to behave in a civil and respectable manner.
As the places we visit are typically unknown to foreign tourists, you will be expected to absorb the local customs.
If you are unsure, please ask your concierge prior to arrival and we can send you our etiquette guide.
Activity Level
Unless a Personal Chauffeur is bundled with this tour as an Add-On, we will use will walk and use public transportation.
A taxi can be taken at participant expense.
Accessibility Level
Dietary restrictions will be taken into consideration prior to giving recommendations on where to eat.
How To Order
1: Adjust the quantity to match the number of tour attendees. For example, if four people are attending, then the quantity should be set to 4.
2: Select desired date.
3: Add tour to cart.
4: Add any additional add-ons.
5: Check out. Our concierge will contact you shortly with the details.
Cancellation Policy
11 Days or More Prior To Tour or Experience Start Date: No Cancellation Fee Levied; 100% of Order Amount Returned
10 days to 6 days Prior To Tour or Experience Start Date: 50% of Order Amount Reserved As Cancellation Fee; 50% of Order Amount Returned
5 Days or Less Prior To Tour or Experience Start Date: 100% of Order Amount Reserved As Cancellation Fee; 0% of Order Amount Returned
For more details, reference our Cancellation & Refund Policy.
Pairs well with
This experience must be purchased in combination with a tour
Choose either a traditional Japanese hairstyle, a modern take on a traditional Japanese hairstyle or an elegant updo.
Select quantity (number of participants) date and time prior to adding to cart.
All tour additions subject to experience availability checks
Nihongami: Wear A Traditional Japanese Hairstyle
If you have any questions, you are always welcome to contact us. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, within 24 hours on weekdays.
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日本髪 Nihongami
Journey to the Past
Get entangled in the world of Nihongami—once worn by all of Japan society but now greatly limited to professional entertainers of traditional Japanese arts or cultural ceremonies, these iconic hairstyles can now only be re-created by a select few.
Witness Transformation
The weight, shape and structure of nihongami naturally encourage an an upright stance and deliberate movement. Explore how external adornment can subtly shape your not only your physical appearance but presence and self-awareness.
Hairstylist To Kyoto's Maiko & Geiko
Meet your Hairstylist: With over 40 years experience styling the hair of maiko and geiko, your hairstylist can accurately replicate the most popular Nihongami hairstyles, or design a modern take that matches your facial features to compliment your features.
Traditional Hairstyles
Modern Hairstyles
Did you Know?
Did You Know?
Japanese were not free to style their hair as they wished. Until the early 1900s, hairstyles were dictated by the ruling class/government with strict ordinances based on social class, occupation, age and marital status.
Many Japanese hairstyles coined nihongami were developed during the Edo period (1603 and 1868), when the trend of long, flowy hair transitioned to elaborate updos, as worn by the most trendy females in society: courtesans and kabuki actors. Merchant wives soon mimicked these hairstyles and they spread down the ranks of soicety into the commoner class.
The photo above, taken in 1910, shows a teenage girl wearing traditional Japanese hairstyle (hana kanzashi)on the right, while the girl on the left dons the westerna hairstyle in mode of the day: the pompadour. Pompadour, or sokuhatsu (束髪) in Japanese, is term that means hair tied in a bun.
Sokuhatsu is a western-influenced hairstyle that emerged during the Meiji period (1868-1912). It was contrived as a countermeasure to the time-consuming and unhygienic traditional Japanese hairstyles and quickly gained popularity due to the government's push for adaptation, its relative simplicity and pleasant aestetic when paired with kimono.
The hairstyle also symbolized a new era of a modernized Japan.
Itinerary
9AM
Meet Your Guide
Your guide will meet you at the designated meeting spot as provided in the tour confirmation e-mail. Alternatively, if you have selected the Personal Chauffeur option, you will be picked up at your accommodation and driven to the 1st location.
9:15AM
Select Your Hairstyle
Arrive at the hair salon and pick out your hairstyle.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Hair Styling
Watch in anticipation as the talented hairstylist transforms your hair into the style you have selected. When finished, you will depart for the first location on the tour.
Pairs Well With
Kimono (Silk) Rental & Dressing
Explore Kyoto in beautiful silk kimono ❤︎
Kimono, the traditional Japanese attire that reflects seasonal changes through use of colors and motifs. Cherry blossoms represent spring, cool blues are reminiscent of summer, golden browns and falling leaves reflect on autumn, while plum blossoms and snowflakes bring forth thoughts of winter.
Each pattern is seeped in meaning, such as the crane representing longevity or marital harmony, the butterfly representing feminine growth, and the rabbit representing prosperity and happiness.
Once worn by all of Japanese society, kimono and its intricate production processes originated in Kyoto within the Imperial Court during the Heian period (794 to 1185). In Heian times, there was great disparity amongst the classes and initially, kimono were limited aristocrats, who commissioned silk weavers to produce colorful, high-quality fabrics. Thereafter, commoners began wearing hemp kimono and the garment became national attire until it fell out of fashion during the Showa era (1926-1989), when western clothing became mainstream in Japan.
Re-branded in the 1980s by the kimono industry as high-end attire suitable for ceremonious occasions, in present day, while kimono manufacturing continues in Kyoto, kimono are rarely worn by Japanese on a regular basis and are typically reserved for special occasions such as weddings, funerals, festivals and ceremonies. In recent years, Japanese and international tourists alike don rented kimono when visiting traditional towns like Kyoto.
In this exclusive Nichome Connect experience, you will be fitted in a high quality, silk kimono in the 100 year old shop of a kimono merchant or in a traditional machiya by an impressively accomplished maiko/geiko kimono dresser. This kimono dressing experience is exquisite, as all of our our kimonos are hand-made—many right here in Kyoto—using traditional weaving, dyeing and hand stitching techniques.
Experience authentic and elegant kimono in Kyoto with Nichome Connect.