Traditional Japanese men hairstyle, Chonmage

In the medieval Japan, strict rules were set for the hairstyle, for both men and women, depending on the social status and age. Generally, the hair was long, a short hair being the associated with felons and criminals.

By far the most original, Japanese specific men hairstyle of the time was chonmage. Extremely popular among the samurai during the Edo Period, chonmage was a shaved pate with the rest of the hair tied in a topknot.

However, in 1871 the Meiji government issued a law, the Dampatsurei Edict, according to which the samurai were banned from wearing topknots, being forced to use the Western hairstyle. This was the end of the chonmage, the only ones allowed to wear a topknot remaining the Sumo wrestlers... but without the shaved pate...