Japanese women blackened their teeth using iron and vinegar. Blackening of teeth indicated a married status of a woman. Before entering her husband’s house, the wife went around seven relatives who gave her iron-containing paint, and then a procedure called “first blackening” began.
Photo: Ohaguro (ohaguro, 御 歯 黒, 鉄 浆) is a Japanese fashion and practice of blackining teeth.
In the 14-15th centuries ohaguro was generally seen among adults. Though in the 16-17th centuries when daughters of military commanders were around 9 years old, they would blacken their teeth as a marking of their maturity age to prepare for political marriage of convince. The practice of blackening teeth was a practice among wealthy families and concerned only girls entering adulthood, which at that time began about 9 years old.
Later okhaguro spread among the men of the court aristocracy. This Japanese tradition was borrowed from Korea and existed from ancient times until the beginning of the 20th century. .
Samurai despised this style, but among the representatives of the house of Tyra, it was customary to follow such a rite. At some point, blackening teeth became fashionable for both genders, and finally became widespread among non-noble women. The tradition remained until the Edo era, when all married women shaved their eyebrows and painted their teeth.
Different Reasons for Ohaguro:
- It was also done to preserve the teeth into old age, as it prevents tooth decay similar to the mechanism of modern dental sealants.
- It was seen as a sign of maturity, beauty, and of civilization.
- A common belief is that blackened teeth differentiated humans from animals.
- Teeth blackening is often done in conjunction with traditions of teeth filing and evulsion, as well as other body modification customs like tattoos.
- It is said that military commanders who were struck in the head on the battlefield and who did not want to be ugly would wear average women's make-up and would blacken their teeth. These faces imitated the Noh masks of women and young boys.
- Its importance was expressed by such a proverb - "Since black always remains black without changing, so will the relationship between husband and wife." Blackened teeth showed that the wife swore eternal allegiance to her husband.
Photo: An Akha woman from Myanmar with blackened teeth
The European Attitude
Teeth blackening and filing were regarded with fascination and disapproval by early European explorers and colonists. The practice survives in some isolated ethnic groups in Southeast Asia and Oceania, but has mostly disappeared after the introduction of Western beauty standards during the colonial era.
Many Westerners, including Engelbert Kaempfer, Philipp Franz von Siebold, and Rutherford Alcock, who visited Edo-era Japan, described ohaguro as an abhorrent custom which disfigured women. Alcock conjectured that the purpose of it is chastity by making the women intentionally unattractive to prevent potential extra-marital relationship.
However, Japanese social scientist Kyouji Watanabe disagrees with this theory. Based on the fact that Japanese girls were allowed a large degree of both social and sexual liberty until the time of Ohaguro when they assume the responsibility of wife and mother, Watanabe thinks that it is a social ritual by which both society and a girl herself confirm the determination of matured women.[
History
- The case of ohaguro was recorded in the book "The Tale of Genji" in the 11th century
- Traces of blackened teeth can be seen in the buried bones and haniwa (250 to 538 CE) from the Kofun period.
- Shōsōin, a treasure house connected to Tōdai-ji in Nara, holds the teachings brought to Japan by Jianzhen in 753.
During the Edo period in the 18-19th centuries, due to the smell and labor required for the coloring process, tradition gradually began to recede into the past. Although married women, unmarried women over 18, prostitutes and geisha still blackened their teeth. In rural areas, the ceremony was performed only during special celebrations, such as Matsuri (holidays), weddings or funerals.
On February 5, 1870, the Japanese government banned ohaguro and the tradition gradually became obsolete. After the Meiji period, it temporarily spread, but it almost entirely died out in the Taishō period (ending in 1927). In contemporary times, the only places where ohaguro can be seen is in plays, hanamachi (geisha districts), some festivals, and movies.
The word "ohaguro" was a Japanese aristocratic term. There is an alternate reading for ohaguro, 鉄漿 kane (literally 'iron drink'). At the old Imperial palace in Kyoto, it was called fushimizu (五倍子水). Among the civilians, such words as kanetsuke (鉄漿付け), tsukegane (つけがね) and hagurome (歯黒め) were used.
The practice of blackening teeth continues among many minority groups in China, Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. It is mainly prevalent in older women, though the practice is still carried on by some younger women. Sometimes artificial teeth are used to achieve blackened teeth. Further west, teeth blackening has been documented as far as Madagascar and medieval Russia
Source:
Zumbroich, Thomas J. (2015). "The missī-stained finger-tip of the fair': A cultural history of teeth and gum blackening in South Asia".
