Teeth blackening: Difference between revisions
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'''Ohaguro''' (御歯黒, 鉄漿) is the [[fashion]] of dyeing one's [[teeth]] [[black]] with [[ink]]. Ohaguro has been a [[Japan]]ese tradition since ancient times up to the beginning of the [[Meiji era]]. One of the earliest recorded case of ohaguro usage was in "[[The Tale of Genji]]," a [[11th century]] work. Originally, ohaguro was a practise amongst rich families only. A female member of a household would begin ohaguro when entering adulthood, which at that time was considered to be around the age of nine. At one point, it became a fashion for both genders, but by the [[Edo era]] it was a fashion for women widely practised by commoners, and it indicated that one was married. |
'''Ohaguro''' (御歯黒, 鉄漿) is the [[fashion]] of dyeing one's [[teeth]] [[black]] with [[ink]]. Ohaguro has been a [[Japan]]ese tradition since ancient times up to the beginning of the [[Meiji era]]. One of the earliest recorded case of ohaguro usage was in "[[The Tale of Genji]]," a [[11th century]] work. Originally, ohaguro was a practise amongst rich families only. A female member of a household would begin ohaguro when entering adulthood, which at that time was considered to be around the age of nine. At one point, it became a fashion for both genders, but by the [[Edo era]] it was a fashion for women widely practised by commoners, and it indicated that one was married. |
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Ohaguro was considered to be more beautiful the blacker the teeth were. Teeth needed to be re-dyed several times a week. The ink coating actually had health benefits of retarding tooth decay. |
Ohaguro was considered to be more beautiful the blacker the teeth were. Teeth needed to be re-dyed several times a week. The ink coating actually had health benefits of retarding tooth decay. Nonetheless, there were also negative side effects from this practice.. The ink was made from iron soaked in tea or rice wine. After this process, the ink would be applied to the person's teeth, but the Japanese didn't know that the ink contained lead. In many cases, this eventually resulted in death. |
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Revision as of 13:30, 25 October 2006
Ohaguro (御歯黒, 鉄漿) is the fashion of dyeing one's teeth black with ink. Ohaguro has been a Japanese tradition since ancient times up to the beginning of the Meiji era. One of the earliest recorded case of ohaguro usage was in "The Tale of Genji," a 11th century work. Originally, ohaguro was a practise amongst rich families only. A female member of a household would begin ohaguro when entering adulthood, which at that time was considered to be around the age of nine. At one point, it became a fashion for both genders, but by the Edo era it was a fashion for women widely practised by commoners, and it indicated that one was married.
Ohaguro was considered to be more beautiful the blacker the teeth were. Teeth needed to be re-dyed several times a week. The ink coating actually had health benefits of retarding tooth decay. Nonetheless, there were also negative side effects from this practice.. The ink was made from iron soaked in tea or rice wine. After this process, the ink would be applied to the person's teeth, but the Japanese didn't know that the ink contained lead. In many cases, this eventually resulted in death.