Editing Tokoyama (section)

{{Short description|Traditional Japanese hairdresser}}
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[[File:大相撲川崎場所 2017 (33234081643).jpg|thumb|upright|A {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} dressing the hair of professional sumo wrestler [[Takayasu Akira|Takayasu]]]]
A {{nihongo||床山|'''tokoyama'''}} is a traditional Japanese [[hairdresser]] specializing in the theatrical arts ([[kabuki]] and {{Transliteration|ja|[[bunraku]]}}) and [[Sumo#Professional sumo|professional sumo]]. The {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} trade is the result of a slow evolution from the traditional Japanese [[barber]]s of the [[Edo period]], some of whom gradually started to specialize in hairstyles of actors, puppets, and {{Transliteration|ja|[[rikishi]]}}. The word {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} uses a [[Kanji|Japanese character]] meaning 'floor', because in the Edo period barbers had shops on simple raised floors.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=193}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=床屋 (とこや) – 語源由来辞典 |encyclopedia=Gogen etymology dictionary |date=25 January 2013 |publisher=Gogen-allguide.com |url=https://gogen-yurai.jp/tokoya/ |access-date=19 January 2024 |language=ja}}</ref>

{{Transliteration|ja|Tokoyama}} use a variety of traditional techniques and tools, mainly combs, spikes and strings, to style the hair after oiling it. Although {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} maintain the use of techniques inherited from the Edo period, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a traditional practice with the gradual disappearance of the craftsmen producing the oils and tools needed for traditional hairdressing.

{{Transliteration|ja|Tokoyama}} maintain close relationships with those whose hair they arrange, often assigned to the particular service of a small group of people. In kabuki, this relationship leads the {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} to choose a specialization that will lead them to follow only actors dedicated to a particular style of acting. In {{Transliteration|ja|bunraku}}, the hairdressers carry out the decisions of stewards who choose the hairstyles. In sumo, {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} are seen as essential elements of the sport, helping to maintain its traditional appearance.