tokoyama

thumb|upright|A dressing the hair of professional sumo wrestler Takayasu Akira|Takayasu A is a traditional Japanese hairdresser specializing in the theatrical arts (kabuki and ) and professional sumo. The trade is the result of a slow evolution from the traditional Japanese barbers of the Edo period, some of whom gradually started to specialize in hairstyles of actors, puppets, and . The word uses a Japanese character meaning 'floor', because in the Edo period barbers had shops on simple raised floors.

use a variety of traditional techniques and tools, mainly combs, spikes and strings, to style the hair after oiling it. Although maintain the use of techniques inherited from the Edo period, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a traditional practice with the gradual disappearance of the craftsmen producing the oils and tools needed for traditional hairdressing.