Genpuku (元服?), a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony modeled after an early Tang Dynasty Chinese custom, dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD).[1] This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participation varied throughout history and depended on factors such as sex, political climate, and social status. Most participants were aristocratic children between the ages of 10 and 20, and most descriptions of genpuku focus on the male ceremony rather that the female ceremony due to the exclusion of women from politically important court positions and warrior status. Important changes in clothing and hairstyle typically denoted this transition, for both men and women. Youth and children were often synonymous, and a period of adolescence was not often present throughout the periods in which traditional genpuku flourished. The etymology of the word, which is atypical, reflects the major points of genpuku ceremonial format; in this case gen (元?)means "head" and fuku (服?) means "wearing". The ceremony is also known as kakan (加冠?), uikōburi (初冠?), kanrei (冠礼?), shufuku (首服?), and hatsu-motoyui (初元結?).

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