The Sawanoi Museum of Traditional Japanese Hair Ornaments in the western suburbs of Tokyo will hold a three-day event Sept. 8-10 commemorating Kushi no Hi (Comb Day). Stores and institutions with connections to combs and hair ornaments usually organize a variety of events on Sept. 4, as the numerals 9 and 4 can be read together as kushi in Japanese.
The museum, based on a collection by Tomoko Okazaki, houses more than 4,000 items, dating from the Edo Period to the Showa Era, of which some 400 are on display.
Special exhibitions of costumes and hair ornaments, as well as uniquely designed yatate (portable brush and ink pot sets), are scheduled to be held during the event. Demonstrations of the making of boxwood combs and other wooden ornaments and accessories will also be held.
The museum, (0428) 77-7051, is about a 10-minute walk from Sawai Station on the JR Ome Line, which originates from JR Tachikawa Station. Open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., closed Mondays. Admission 800 yen.
More than 750 articles from the Sawanoi Collection will be exhibited at the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Aug. 26-Sept. 17, focusing on the combs, hair ornaments and makeup utensils of the Edo Period, and kabuki costumes worn by onnagata actor Tamasaburo Bando. A demonstration of Edo-style hairdressing is scheduled to take place in the museum lobby Aug. 26, 1:30-3 p.m.
Fukuyama Museum of Art is near the north exit of JR Fukuyama Station, (0849) 32-2345. Open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays. Admission 900 yen for adults, 500 yen for junior and senior high school students and 400 yen for elementary school students.