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Method 2

Hold the center of the lower edge between your teeth. Pull the left and then the right edges of the tenugui around the back of your head and tie the two top corners in front of the top of your forehead. Release the lower edge and pull backwards.

Method 3

Double the tenugui lengthwise, fold ends in to form a triangle. Turn inside out and place on head. This is particularly useful for young children.

Tying Men Himo

Here are two ways of tying a men, from the top with long “kansai himo” or from the bottom with shorter “kanto himo.” The second method is simpler and more usual, so we will stick with this. The himo are tied at the fourth from bottom bar and pre-threaded through the top bars of the men and placed inside. After tying the tenugui we take out the ends of the men himo and hold them in our left hand while pulling open the himo which are already in place at the back of the men. Holding the men from the tsukidate, push your face in chin first. Pull both himo tight from the top then tie a half knot at the back, turning it into a bow which should sit in the groove at the base of your skull. You should ensure that the loops and tails of your men himo are of equal length and that they do not exceed 16 inches (40cm). For some obscure reason, even short himo are made a fraction too long to achieve this, so if you want to get it right, be prepared to get the scissors out. Kendo himo if cut will fray, so it is necessary to retie the ends as shown above.