However, the hair may be thinned in this region or the crown of the head shaved, called , to allow the topknot to sit more neatly. All professional sumo wrestlers wear a as soon as their hair is long enough to do so. Sumo wrestlers with status are required on certain occasions, such as during a , to wear their hair in a more elaborate form of topknot called an or ginkgo leaf style, where the end of the topknot is splayed out to form a semicircle, resembling a hand fan (). Given the uniqueness of the style in modern Japan, the Sumo Association employs specialist hairdressers called to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair. The is of such symbolic importance in sumo that snipping it off is the centerpiece of a wrestler's retirement ceremony. Dignitaries and other important people in a wrestler's life are invited to take one snip, with the final one taken by his trainer. For most wrestlers who never reached a sekitori rank, his retirement ceremony will be the only time he wears the more elaborate . See also List of hairstyles or , the traditional Chinese topknot Khokhol Queue, the Qing-dynasty Chinese hairstyle also involving a shaved pate References Further reading External links Sumo terminology Hairstyles Samurai Japanese fashion 2010s fashion