“Hairdresser’s Husband”: The Most Independent Women of Edo!


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!!!

A Samurai Who Migrated to Thailand 400 Years Ago


Hi Eishi here! How’s your day going?

After posting an article called “The Origin of ‘Kiseru’/ Japanese Pipe”, my rakugo club friend asked me how in the world it was possible for Japanese to trade with Laotians during the Edo period.

Japan began trading with Portugal in 1543, which was before the Edo period started, and Portugal had already had a strong foothold in South East Asia. So my initial guess was that it could’ve been through the Portuguese.

I don’t know if my assumption was right, but it was a possibility. Japan also traded with China, so it could’ve been through them as well.

Then, I remembered that the Ayutthaya Japanese Village (アユタヤ日本人町) in the present day Thailand had already existed. In fact, Japanese started migrating to Thailand as early as the mid-14th century!!! So it could’ve been through them 🙂

It is said that 1,000-1,500 Japanese lived in the tiny village (570m x 230m) during its heyday.

Now the leader of this village was a samurai warrior called Yamada Nagamasa (1590-1630). He was a great leader and well trusted by the Ayutthayan authorities, and he eventually became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province !!!

I learned from a TV documentary that he was given a Thai name and completely treated as a local, so some people didn’t even know he was actually a Japanese!!!