About a Tokoyama 

In traditional Japanese kabuki theater and dance, an actor usually wears a wig that represents the time period of the story. A Tokoyama (wig artisan) makes history a reality on the stage through their craftsmanship. 

The complexity of the process of creating one wig is beyond our imagination. 

First, the katsuraya measures the head size of the actor to create a base, and plants in pieces of hair, one by one. Then, the tokoyama takes over the process to weave the bundled hair into the shape that fits the character and story perfectly.

Although the strands of hair and small hair accessories cannot be seen from the audience, a wig is filled with details and passion of the Tokoyama.  

Mr. Kanehisa Osawa has been a wig artisan for over 65 years. 
He has created wigs for numerous kabuki shows and historical TV dramas, and currently trains young artisans who are following his path. 

In this workshop we will visit Mr. Osawa’s atelier and have him show us the process of wig making, which is usually never shown to the public. 
 

　Workshop topics　

• What is a Tokoyama?

• The artisan’s tools 

• The process of wig making

• Live demo of hair weaving

• Tradition in the world of a Tokoyama 

• The reality about passing on the tradition 

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​　About the Workshop  

• Please note that the workshop is not intended to teach the participants how to master the artisan’s technique, but rather a demonstration.  

• All workshops will be held live online via Zoom. Participants will need to login from their computers or mobile devices. After completing registration a Zoom link will be sent to to 

• The workshop is a total of 3 lessons. For those who cannot participate in all classes but physically cannot attend the live class can watch an archive video at a later date.