| Description | Comb from 2025 Sumo Wrestling Tournament
There are four types of combs used for tying wrestlers' topknots which are all manufactured by Kushitome, founded in 1903. Third-generation owner Shingo Mori and his son Hideaki Mori skilfully make the combs in their home workshop.
The combs are made out of box-wood which has been air-dried for about a year, smoked in a kiln and dried in a room for three to five years. The combs are then cut from the wood. Each comb tooth is polished about 1,000 times with dried horsetail rushes.
This comb was used by a sumo hairdresser (tokoyama) whose job it is to style the topknots that define the appearance of every professional sumo wrestler. It is an Aragushi comb which is used first on the hair during styling. |