Ohaguro
Ohaguro ( Japanese お 歯 黒 , to German "Tooth blackening") is the name used today for the Japanese fashion of coloring teeth black. In Japan it was widespread in isolated cases among women until the 20th century and occasionally among men until the beginning of the Meiji period .
etymology
The Japanese word kuro ( 黒 , "black") is associated with the idea of night after sunset and is in contrast to day. Just as the night is subordinate to the day and at the same time inextricably linked to it, the color black also stands for submission and loyalty. The formal spelling of Ohaguro was done with the Kanji お 歯 黒 , alternatively the Kanji 鉄 漿 , literally "iron potion", were used. The names Kanetsuke ( 鉄 漿 付 け ), Tsukegane ( つ け が ね ) or Hagurome ( 歯 黒 め ) were more popular.
history
Traces of blackened teeth in bone finds from the Kofun period suggest that tooth blackening was used as early as the middle of the first millennium. The ohaguro as fashion goes back to the Heian period back. It was first mentioned in writing in the Genji Monogatari in the 11th century . Ohaguro was practiced by both men and women of the court nobility . In the following centuries it was widespread among samurai and was symbolic of loyalty to the fiefdom. From the 18th century at the latest , it was mainly used by women. During the Edo period , teeth blackening was a common practice among married women. It was considered a symbol of marital fidelity . It was also widespread among women in the brothel district , such as the Yoshiwara in Edo .
The 1870 ban on ohaguro for men, reported by Chamberlain, is an indication that it was also used by men, at least occasionally, until the Meiji period.
Ohaguro was never banned for women . It slowly disappeared from the Japanese public after Empress Shōken first appeared in a public appearance with white teeth in 1873, causing public excitement. From this point on, white, unstained teeth gradually began to prevail among contemporary Japanese women. But for years after the Empress' appearance, tooth blackening agents were advertised in Japanese newspapers . It was not until the last decades of the 19th century that fashion had largely disappeared and only persisted with a few prostitutes until the 20th century.
Girls at the age of ten began collecting the ingredients of ohaguro from relatives and friends and learned how to prepare and use them. Shortly before sexual maturity and the associated wedding , or in the case of young prostitutes when the first customer was received, they were also given the necessary equipment to apply the dye and began to blacken their teeth.
Composition of the dye
The tooth stain consisted of iron acetate in the form of Kanemizu ( 鉄 漿水 , dt. "Metal water" , called Fushimizu , 五倍子 水 , at the imperial court in Kyōto ) and tannic acid in the form of Fushi powder ( 五倍子 ). The Kanemizu was made by heating scrap iron such as rusty nails. The red-hot iron was poured into a mixture of water and vinegar (or rice wine ) and concentrated tea . This mixture was left to ferment in an airtight container in a dark place for a few days . The foam that formed on the surface of the liquid was skimmed off and the solution then brought to a boil. After cooling, the liquid was filtered and stored in small jugs. Before it was applied, iron filings and Fushi powder, which was obtained from the gall nuts of the Japanese suma tree ( Rhus javanica ), were added to the Kanemizu .
The result was a water-repellent solution that was applied to the teeth in several layers until a thick, lacquer-like and deep black coating was formed over the teeth. Some of the traditional recipes still recommended the addition of viscous rice jelly. Commodore Perry also lists urine as a constituent in his travel records , but this has not been confirmed by other sources.
Various tools were required to carry out the blackening process. These were given to the brides shortly before the wedding and to the prostitutes just before their debut . The Mimidarai ( 耳 盥 , "ear-tub"), which got its name from the two ear-shaped handles, was a small water basin that was used to rinse the mouth. On top of the water basin was an elongated, narrow tray, the Watashigane ( 渡 し 金 ), on which a jug with the Kanemizu and a bowl, Kanewan ( 鉄 漿 椀 , "iron bowl") stood. The dye was mixed in the latter. The powder of the gallnut was kept in a small container, the fushi-bako ( 五倍子 箱 ). Small, tufted toothpicks made from bamboo or brushes made from feathers were used to apply the dye.
It took a few days to make the mix. It had an intense, putrid odor and a similarly foul taste, which however disappeared after drying. The color only lasted two to three days and therefore had to be renewed several times a week in order to maintain the deep black color. Each time before the dye was reapplied, the teeth had to be carefully cleaned with the peel of a pomegranate in order to obtain an adhesive substrate for the dye.
Recent research into the composition of the dye has shown that it offered some protection against tooth decay and demineralization of the teeth.
swell
- UA Casal: Japanese cosmetics and teeth-blackening . In: The Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan , 3rd series, Vol. 9, 1966, ISSN 0913-4271 pp. 5-27 (English).
- Gina Collia-Suzuki: Beautiful blackend smiles . In: Andon 92 , Society for Japanese Arts, August 2012, pp. 46-48. Abridged version of the article online , accessed on September 25, 2012 (English).
- Masahiko Fukagawa: Teeth color as a cultural form. , Accessed September 25, 2012 (English).
- Mitsumasa Hara: Ohaguro no kenkyū. Tokyo 1994 (Japanese).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hara, pp. 97-98, quoted from Fukagawa
- ↑ Hara, p. 131, quoted from Fukagawa
- ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain: Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected With Japan for the Use of Travelers and Others. 2nd edition, London 1891, p. 57, quoted from Collia-Suzuki, p. 48.
- ^ L. Miller: Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics. University of California Press, CA 2006, quoted from Collia-Suzuki, p. 48.
- ↑ a b c Collia-Suzuki, p. 46
- ^ WG Beasley: The Perry Mission to Japan, 1853-1854. Curzon Press Ltd, Richmond, Surrey 2002, ISBN 978-1-903350-13-3 , p. 181, quoted from Collia-Suzuki, p. 48.
- ^ WH Lewis, MPF Elvin-Lewis: Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Human Health. 2nd Edition, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken 2003, p. 448, quoted from Collia-Suzuki, p. 48.