tokoyama

A tokoyama (床山) is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in a chonmage style. The Sumo Association ranks them according to experience and ability and only the most senior tokoyama are entitled to prepare the more ornate oicho, or ginkgo leaf form of topknot, which sekitori ranked wrestlers wear in their bouts and on other formal occasions. It may not seem to the casual observer that such a position is necessary, but the elaborate hairstyle of sumo wrestlers, especially sekitori, combined with the combative nature of sumo bouts and sumo practice make it necessary for these professionals to be on hand to maintain the topknots as they are expected to look.