Editing Tokoyama (section)

==Styling the haircut==
{{See also|Chonmage}}
[[File:2022年秋巡業---大相撲千葉場所---大銀杏ができるまで.webm|thumb|right|A {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} styling the {{Transliteration|ja|ōichonmage}} of [[Tamawashi Ichirō|Tamawashi]]]]
Depending on the environment in which they work, {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} may use strictly traditional tools, while others have more freedom and also use modern tools. Regardless of their professional environment, all the {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} use a special ointment called {{Transliteration|ja|[[Glossary of sumo terms#binzuke|binzuke]]}} (also spelled {{Transliteration|ja|bintsuke}}), renowned for its sturdiness, making it ideal for elaborate hairstyles.{{sfn|Adachi|1985|p=103}}{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=45}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=Sumo 101: The Topknot |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/09/14/sumo/sumo-101-topknot/|work=[[The Japan Times]]|url-access=subscription|date=14 September 2018|access-date=17 January 2024|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915130313/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/09/14/sumo/sumo-101-topknot/#.W50DH1N_pqY|url-status=live}}</ref> In sumo, the {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} only use {{Transliteration|ja|binzuke}} produced by a company in [[Edogawa, Tokyo]].<ref name="flash">{{Cite web|url=https://smart-flash.jp/lifemoney/54472/|title=力士の髷はどうやって作るのか「床山」神の技術の真髄を見た|date=12 November 2018|website=Smart FLASH|publisher=[[Kobunsha]]|access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> In {{Transliteration|ja|bunraku}}, {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} can make the most use of modern tools in hairstyling, such as hairsprays and hair dryers.{{sfn|Adachi|1985|pp=100-101}} However, they can not use oil in puppet headgear, as the puppet heads, made of [[Chamaecyparis obtusa|cypress]], would lose adhesion when color pigments are applied during restoration.<ref name="jafoundation"/>{{sfn|Adachi|1985|p=104}}

In both sumo and kabuki, the {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} use two kinds of oil (called {{Transliteration|ja|sukiyu}} and {{Transliteration|ja|chuneri}}) produced specifically for the manufacture of wigs.<ref name="kabukibito2">{{cite web|url=https://www.kabuki-bito.jp/special/old/tepco-memory/post-memory-45/|title=ちょっと昔の歌舞伎 モノからひもとく 想い出あれこれ|language=ja|website=Kabuki-bito|date=9 September 2010 |publisher=[[Shochiku]]|page=3|accessdate=19 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/story/3159/|title=特集 - おすもうさんの髪を整え守る"すき油"のおはなし|work=[[NHK]]|date=17 July 2020|access-date=19 January 2024|language=ja}}</ref> Sumo {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} use a {{Transliteration|ja|sukiyu}} ointment made traditionally from [[rapeseed]], [[Japan wax]] and vanilla fragrance.<ref name="flash"/><ref name="Asahi1">{{cite web|author1=Kenichi Hato |author2=Kensuke Suzuki |title=The few good men who prop up sumo's topknot a dying breed |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13941587|work=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|date=18 November 2020|access-date=15 January 2024|archive-date=20 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120014625/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13941587|url-status=live}}</ref> This ointment has a distinctive scent that is associated with professional sumo.<ref name="Asahi1"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202403070000265.html|title=部屋ごと季節ごとに硬さや粘り調整の繊細さ 力士の美しいまげ支えるびん付け油「オーミすき油」|date=8 March 2024|publisher=Nikkan Sports|access-date=13 March 2024|language=ja}}</ref>

Professional sumo and kabuki {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} use combs and picks of various sizes.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=104}}<ref name="kabukibito2"/> The special handmade combs are called {{Transliteration|ja|kushi}}.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=120}} Generally, these tools were made in the [[Kyoto Prefecture]],{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=194}} although it seems that the last company to manufacture them is now based in [[Nagoya]].<ref name="sumo101"/> Each type of comb is made from a different type of wood.<ref name="greatbig">{{cite AV media|people=[[Great Big Story]] |title=The Hairdresser to Japan's Sumo Wrestling Elite|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m28Qme-XhbM|type=Youtube documentary |date=7 November 2019 |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> An {{Transliteration|ja|araigushi}} comb is first used on the hair, followed by a {{Transliteration|ja|sukigushi}} to spread out the ointment and shine the hair.<ref name="flash"/><ref name="greatbig"/> A {{Transliteration|ja|soroigushi}} is used to tidy up the hair when everything is done.<ref name="greatbig"/> A {{Transliteration|ja|maekaki}} is used only to make the {{Transliteration|ja|ōichō}} style of topknot, where the hair is then spread out using a metal pick called a {{Transliteration|ja|magebo}}.<ref name="flash"/><ref name="greatbig"/> In sumo, it is also common for {{Transliteration|ja|tokoyama}} to grow a thumbnail to facilitate styling.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=104}}

As of the 2020s, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the traditional tools and balms used to style the haircuts, as the craftsmen who produce them are all gradually retiring without replacement.<ref name="Asahi1"/> This is notably the case of paper strings (called {{Transliteration|ja|motoyui}}) used to tie up the hair of sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors' wigs,<ref name="kabukibito2"/> which were made by just one craftsman in [[Iida, Nagano]] until he was forced to close down his business for good in 2020, when all activities requiring his strings (sumo, kabuki, [[Jidaigeki|period drama]]) ceased due to [[COVID-19 lockdowns|COVID-19]].<ref name="Asahi1"/> In recent years, however, a few craftsmen have taken over the traditional manufacturing activities and two craftsmen now continue to produce {{Transliteration|ja|motoyui}}.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=[[NHK World Japan]] |title=Keeping alive traditional paper ties|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20240123101537394/index.html|type=News report|date=23 January 2023 |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202403060000482.html|title=全国でわずか２人…力士のまげ支える元結職人にとって存続危機はチャンス「世界を目指せますよ」|date=7 March 2024|publisher=Nikkan Sports|access-date=7 March 2024|language=ja}}</ref> Ointment for wrestlers' heads is also in short supply, with fewer and fewer companies able to manufacture it due particularly to recruitment difficulties and the lack of a market with sufficient demand, and existing family businesses are unable to continue their activities after the current managers retire.<ref name="Asahi1"/>