Ohaguro

Ukiyo-e of yama-uba with blackened teeth and Kintarō

Ohaguro (お歯黒^?) is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most popular in Japan until the Meiji era, as well as in the southeastern parts of China and Southeast Asia. Dyeing was mainly done by married women, though occasionally men did it as well. It was also beneficial, as it prevented tooth decay, in a similar fashion to modern dental sealants.

Japan

In Japan, it existed from ancient times, and was seen among the civilians up until the end of the Meiji period. Pitch black things such as glaze like lacquer were seen as beautiful.

Name

The word "ohaguro" was a Japanese aristocratic term. There is an alternate reading for ohaguro, 鉄漿 (literally 'iron drink'). At the old Imperial palace in Kyoto, it was called fushimizu (五倍子水^?). Among the civilians, words such as kanetsuke (鉄漿付け^?), tsukegane (つけがね^?) and hagurome (歯黒め^?) were used.

History

• Traces of blackened teeth can be seen in the buried bones and haniwa from the Kofun period.
• Shōsōin, a treasure house connected to Tōdai-ji in Nara, holds the teachings brought to Japan by Jianzhen in 753.

References to ohaguro exist in the Genji Monogatari^[1] and Tsutsumi Chūnagon Monogatari. At the end of the Heian period, at the time when aristocratic men and woman reached puberty and celebrated their genpuku or mogi, the Tairas and other samurai, and pages working at large temples dyed their teeth. In particular, the imperial family and other high-ranking aristocrats who had finished their hakamaza (ceremony where a child is fitted with a hakama) blackened their teeth and painted their eyebrows (hikimayu (引眉^?)). This was done in the imperial household until the end of the Edo era.

In the Muromachi period, ohaguro was generally seen among adults, though when the Sengoku period arrived, so as to prepare for political marriages of convenience, when the daughters of military commanders were around 8 to 10 years old, they would blacken their teeth as a marking of their coming of age. Relatives and guardians of the bride who blackened their teeth were called kaneoya (鉄漿親). 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 makeup and would blacken their teeth. These faces imitated the Noh masks of women and young boys.

After the Edo period, only men in the imperial family and aristocrats blackened their teeth. Due to the odor and labor required for the process, as well as a feeling among young women that they were aging, ohaguro was done only by married women, unmarried women who were older than 18, prostitutes and geisha. For rural people, ohaguro was done only at times of special celebrations, such as matsuri, wedding ceremonies, and funerals. There were also depictions of ohaguro in fairy tales, such as Gon, the Little Fox.

On February 5, 1870, the government banned the practice of ohaguro, and the process gradually became obsolete. (After the Meiji period, it temporarily spread, but in the Taisho period, it almost entirely died out.)

In contemporary times, the only places where ohaguro can be seen is in plays, hanamachi (geisha quarters), some matsuri, and movies.

Dyes

The main ingredient was a smelly dark-brown colored liquid made of an acetic acid called kanemizu (かねみず) with iron dissolved in it. Gallnut powder and tannin powder were blended in, turning it non-water soluble. When the liquid combined with the tannins, it would turn black. Coating the teeth with this liquid helped to prevent tooth decay and enamel decay. The dye had to be applied once a day or once every few days.

As a convenient prescription, a fine powder of gallnut powder, sulfuric acid, and oyster shell could also be applied to the teeth, though this never really caught on.

In theatrical plays, ink mixed with turpentine was used, though these days, ink mixed with tooth wax is used.

Superstitions and urban legends

• In the Meiji period, a rumor spread about an area where a virgin's blood was painted on an electric line. As a result of not wanting to have their blood taken as well, many of the young women in this area changed their appearances to match those of married women by blackening their teeth, painting their eyebrows and wearing simple kimono.
• In Yamada Norio's book "A trip of Tohoku Ghost Stories", a story about Fukushima prefecture is described. The story is called Ohaguro bettari (お歯黒べったり).

Elsewhere

A Vietnamese woman with blackened teeth.

Historically blackened teeth were known in China, and in the Shan Hai Jing, there is a description of a "black teeth country" (lit. 黒歯国). In modern times teeth blackening similar to ohaguro can be seen among many minority groups in 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.

• Yunnan
  • Hmong people
  • Lahu people
  • Yao people
• Vietnam
  • ethnic Vietnamese
  • Dao Tien people
  • Lu people
  • Black Hmong people
  • Nung people
• Laos
  • Hani people
  • Katu people
  • Phu noi people
• Thailand
  • Akha
  • Lisu people
• Pacific Islands ^[2]
  • Palau
  • Yap
  • Philippines
  • Mariana Islands

For a comprehensive review with further references, see Zumbroich T. J. (2009), The ethnobotany of teeth blackening in Southeast Asia ^[3] and Zumbroich T. J. (2011), To strengthen the teeth and harden the gums - Teeth blackening as medical practice in Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia. ^[4]

References

1. ^ Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler. Chapter 6, page 130. Penguin Classics. Reprint 2003. First published 2001. ISBN 0-14-243714-X - see also note 57 by Royall Tyler
2. ^ http://www.offisland.com/feature/teeth.html
3. ^ http://www.erajournal.org/ojs/index.php/era/article/view/393
4. ^ http://www.erajournal.org/ojs/index.php/era/article/view/433

External links

• Ohaguro