Now that grades are in, I can resume my quest to find the best facial hair ever sported by Japanese Diet members.

The front-runner is as clear as his handlebar is wide: Nagaoka Gaishi (長岡外史, Yamaguchi Prefecture, 1924-1928). 1/

Another strong contender is Itagaki Taisuke 板垣退助, leading figure in the People's Freedom and Right's Movement and head of the Liberal Party, who had a regal mane to boot. So much so it was enshrined on the 100 yen banknote 2/

Lesser known but no less wizardly is Kōno Hironaka (河野広中, Fukushima Pref., 1890-1920). 3/

Thickest beard goes to Iwasaki Manjirō (岩崎万次郎, Tochigi Pref., 1890-1893), who is by all appearances a mountain of a man. 4/

Leader in the neckbeard category is Arai Shōgo (新井章吾, Tochigi Pref., 1890-1906). Worth noting that Tochigi Pref is outperforming others. I left Tanaka Shōzō, the pioneering environmental activist, off the list but he repped Tochigi with a mighty beard of his own. 5/

Best chops go to Shigeno Kenjirō (重野謙次郎, Yamagata Pref., 1893-1903). 6/

Leading in the groomsmanship category is Wakao Ikuzō, Jr. (若尾幾造, Kanagawa Pref., 1912-1924). 7/

And an honorable mention for overall styling goes to Suzuki Jyuubi (鈴木充美, Mie Pref., 1894-1897). 8/

Interestingly, the Japanese-language wikipedia entry for "beard" (髭) features this photo of Itō Hirobumi (the preeminent Meiji oligarch) at the very top of the page, suggesting it's a canonical beard in the Japanese imagination. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%AD  9/

My search was haphazard at best and skewed toward the Meiji period. Who am I missing? 10/