cicada-shaped

Updated: June 30, 2025

Hair-ornaments were also a mark of rank. They were cicada-shaped, of gold and silver for the highest grades, of silver for the medium grades, and of copper for the low grades. The caps indicated official status without any reference to hereditary titles. The radical changes outlined above were all effected in the short space of eight years.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era