Changes

''Wakashû'' refers generally to a young man, prior to the age of ''[[genpuku]]'', who therefore has not had his forelocks cut/shaved off yet. The term can also refer more specifically to the younger partner in a samurai pederastic relationship (''[[shudo|shûdô]]''), or to young male actors in [[kabuki]].

''Wakashû'' refers generally to a young man, prior to the age of ''[[genpuku]]'', who therefore has not had his forelocks cut/shaved off yet. The term can also refer more specifically to the younger partner in a samurai pederastic relationship (''[[shudo|shûdô]]''), or to young male actors in [[kabuki]].

Coming of age in early modern Japan involved maintenance of particular hairstyles, in stages depending on one's age. In the first stage of progression from child to ''wakashû'' ("youth"), a section just in the middle of the top of the boy's head was shaved. Though hair was left on all sides, it was the forelocks, or bangs, in front, the ''maegami'' (lit. "front hair") which were seen as particularly marking one's identity as ''wakashû''. At age fourteen or fifteen, the shaved crown was still maintained, and one's hair was cut into straighter right-angles; this was known as ''kado o ireru'' ("putting in the corners") and as ''sumi-maegami'' ("cornered front-hair"). Finally, at age eighteen or nineteen, one's forelocks were shaved off, along with the crown, resulting in the shaved pate (''sakayaki'') that was the mark of a full adult.<ref>Joshua Mostow, "Wakashu as a Third Gender and Gender Ambiguity through the Edo Period," in Mostow and Asato Ikeda (eds.), ''A Third Gender'', Royal Ontario Museum (2016), 19.</ref>

Coming of age in early modern Japan involved maintenance of particular hairstyles, in stages depending on one's age. In the first stage of progression from child to ''wakashû'' ("youth"), at age eleven or twelve, a section just in the middle of the top of the boy's head was shaved. Though hair was left on all sides, it was the forelocks, or bangs, in front, the ''maegami'' (lit. "front hair") which were seen as particularly marking one's identity as ''wakashû''. At age fourteen or fifteen, the shaved crown was still maintained, and one's hair was cut into straighter right-angles; this was known as ''kado o ireru'' ("putting in the corners") and as ''sumi-maegami'' ("cornered front-hair"). Finally, at age eighteen or nineteen, one's forelocks were shaved off, along with the crown, resulting in the shaved pate (''sakayaki'') that was the mark of a full adult.<ref>Joshua Mostow, "Wakashu as a Third Gender and Gender Ambiguity through the Edo Period," in Mostow and Asato Ikeda (eds.), ''A Third Gender'', Royal Ontario Museum (2016), 19.</ref>

This shaved crown, along with the forelocks, can often be easily seen in ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints and other works; often, the forelocks were grown out, and tied back. As a mark of one's youth, the forelocks came to be somewhat eroticized. Kabuki actors playing female roles (''onnagata'') covered over their shaved crowns or shaved pates with a purple cloth, known simply as ''murasaki bôshi'' ("purple hat"), in order to hide this mark of their maleness. These purple cloths quickly became eroticized by the fans as well.

This shaved crown, along with the forelocks, can often be easily seen in ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints and other works; often, the forelocks were grown out, and tied back. As a mark of one's youth, the forelocks came to be somewhat eroticized. Kabuki actors playing female roles (''onnagata'') covered over their shaved crowns or shaved pates with a purple cloth, known simply as ''murasaki bôshi'' ("purple hat"), in order to hide this mark of their maleness. These purple cloths quickly became eroticized by the fans as well.