Wigs

The hair around a mask contextualizes it. For human figures, a wig (kazura 鬘 or kami 髪) of human hair or horse mane is combed and shaped on the actor’s head and then bound either high on the head (old men) or at the nape of the neck (women). Certain ghosts and deities wear loose hair (tare 垂). Superhuman figures sport large wigs (kashira 頭) with fuzzy bangs, surrounding the mask and descending down the actor’s back. Most unmasked characters do not require a wig, with a few exceptions (e.g. Uta-ura).

In this section

• Kazura (bound wigs) 鬘・蔓
• Tare (loose wigs) 垂
• Kashira (large wigs) 頭
• Special wigs

Kazura (bound wigs) 鬘・蔓

A kazura is made with long hair (either human hair or horse mane), parted at the center. For women’s roles, the wig is set on the actor’s head, combed, rolled at the sides, and gathered in a low tail at the nape of the neck, where it is tied with a white paper knot (mottoi or motoyui 元結).

Bound wig types	Character types	Plays
Kuro kazura 黒鬘 black wig	Young and middle-aged women	Standard shite and tsure women’s roles.
Uba kazura 姥鬘 tan wig	Old women (uba mask)	Tsure in Takasago, Kuzu, etc.
Yamanba kazura 山姥鬘 mixed black and tan wig	Old woman of the hills	Yamamba (kogaki)
Rō onna kazura 老女鬘 white wig	Aged women (Komachi, Higaki)	Sotoba Komachi, Ōmu Komachi, Higaki, Obasute, etc.
Naga kazura 長鬘 long wig	Female deities	Tsure in Kamo, Naniwa, etc.
Kasshiki kazura 喝食鬘 Not parted in the middle; hair combed straight back and bound at the nape of the neck.	Boy acolytes wearing kasshiki mask	Jinen Koji, Kagetsu only.
Jō-gami 尉髪 old man’s wig. Tan-colored, top-knot flipped to the front over a white cap, in chonmage-style and tied with a ramie cord	Old men (used with jō – old men’s masks)	Mae-shite in first-category plays such as Takasago, and second-category plays such as Tadanori, etc.

Tare (loose wigs) 垂

Tare (lit. ‘hanging’) wigs have below-shoulder-length hair tied to a ring that is placed on the crown of the actor’s head. The hair is combed so that portions fall to the front. A hat or other headgear is placed on top of the wig, covering the ring.

Wig types	Character types	Play
Kuro tare 黒垂 black wig	Female and male deities, warriors and warrior-courtiers, kyōgen deities	Ama, Seiōbō, Takasago, Atsumori, kyogen Fuku-no-kami, etc.
Shiro tare 白垂 off-white wig	Old men wearing hats, aged deity, aged spirit	Tenkō (mae-shite), Oimatsu, Saigyō Zakura, etc.
Shin no shiro tare 真ノ白垂 pure white wig	A heron	Sagi only.

Kashira (large wigs) 頭

Kashira are constructed by attaching hair to a cloth strip that is tied to the head with sashes. The hairs flare out in all directions obscuring the mask and cascading down the back of the actor. An extension can be added at the back of the wig, for extra length.

Wig types	Character types	Plays
Aka-gashira 赤頭 large red wig	Strong gods, dragon gods, demons, beasts	Kamo, Arashiyama, Kasuga Ryūjin, Nomori, Kurama Tengu
Kuro-gashira 黒頭 large black wig	Male ghosts, young deities, masked youths	Kokaji, Makura Jidō, Nishikigi, Utō, Fujito, Yorobōshi, Semimaru
Shiro-gashira 白頭 large white wig	Old male or female demons, animals	Father lion in Shakkyō, Koi no Omoni, Tama no i, Variant performances of Yamamba, Sesshōseki, Nomori

Special wigs

Some wigs are used only in special instances or in variant performances. A  woman’s wig with a long hairpiece extension (naga-kamoji 長髢) is used for the nagabakama variant performances of Aoi-no-ue and Dōjōji, where a jealous woman wearing a Hannya mask dons long trailing red trousers. In the plays Mochizuki and Uchitō-mōde the actor performs a shishi “lion” dance wearing a variant large wig that is attached to gold open fans that substitute for a lion mask. In addition, some kyōgen plays, such as Hige-yagura and Tō-sumō require beards.

Finally, some plays, such as Tōru or Unrin’in, are performed without wigs (ji-gami, or “own hair”).

Contributor: Monica Bethe, Diego Pellecchia