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→Facial Hair
==Facial Hair==
==Facial Hair==
Facial hair was common prior to the Edo Period, and was, unsurprisingly, a show on manliness on the part of the wearer. Moustaches were popular, and among generals these could become quite distinctive. Beards (while typically thin) were also worn, particularly because they made wearing helmet cords more comfortable (as anyone who has worn a military helmet for an extended period of time might sympathize with). Beards appear to have fallen out of favor and/or popularity in the Edo Period, and to this day they are rather rare among Japanese men.
Facial hair was common prior to the Edo Period, and was, unsurprisingly, a show on manliness on the part of the wearer. Moustaches were popular, and among generals these could become quite distinctive. Beards (while typically thin) were also worn, particularly because they made wearing helmet cords more comfortable. Beards appear to have fallen out of favor and/or popularity in the Edo Period, and to this day they are rather rare among Japanese men.
This trend is illustrated, for example, in portraits of [[emperor]]s. In the medieval period, emperors were typically depicted with beard and moustache; however, [[Emperor Go-Yozei|Emperor Go-Yôzei]] (r. [[1586]]-[[1611]]) was the last to be depicted in this manner, and through the rest of the Edo period, facial hair was far less common, among all ranks of society. Beards and moustaches returned, however, in the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods, into the first half of the 20th century, in emulation of Western styles, and in the case of the [[Meiji Emperor]] and other prominent figures, as a show of masculinity.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 173.</ref>
==Headwear==
==Headwear==