Types of comb: tokigushi, sukigushi,Kyoto boxwood combs

Boxwood combs are not only for neatening hair. Their form is suited to the creation and fixing of Japanese hair styles. In addition, there are slight differences in Kansai and Kanto, including in the names used and in the shape of the tiny mountain picture. I would like to touch on just some of this here. The object that we generally imagine when we hear the word “comb” is probably a horizontal tokashikushi or tokigushi comb, used for combing and arranging hair. It is usually about 16 cm long; the number of teeth and their thickness varies, and a choice can apparently be made according to the hair’s characteristics and volume. A sukigushi is used to remove unwanted objects such as dandruff from the hair. The bottom comb in the photo is known as a bingushi and it is used to train the hair on the temples (bin) to the left and right after the hair has been neatened.