Why do they ink their teeth in Rus'? Ideal of beauty: black teeth. “Iron water”, “eyebrow lining” and the legend of Ohaguro-battari

Probably, many of you, looking at Japanese prints of the Middle Ages, paid attention to the black-painted teeth of beauties.

I would like to talk about the history of this phenomenon today.

When exactly the cute tradition of war painting of teeth appeared in Japan is not known for certain. According to some sources, it originates with the 15th Emperor Oojin-tenno and his warlike mother, Empress Dowager Jingu, who picked up this infection on the nearest continent somewhere in the 3-4 centuries. And in the glorious neighboring states South-East Asia They started painting their teeth in ancient times, and they still indulge here and there.
So the Japanese came to visit their neighbors, looked at this beauty and decided that they needed it too.

True, at first the Japanese did not know how to paint their teeth correctly. And they used whatever they had for this purpose: juices of fruits and herbs, all sorts of decoctions, which did not give a high-quality color and were washed off quickly.

In Japanese, black teeth are called "o-haguro" お歯黒. Using the honorific prefix "o" before a word shows that it was taken seriously and with respect.
Blackened teeth were part of the complete makeup set for those who wanted to be considered fashionable and beautiful. Beauty in Ancient Asian style: white-white face, red-red lips with a bow and black-black eyes, hair and teeth. And at first it was accessible only to the nobility. For the rest, it was not necessary to look beautiful and fashionable.
This is what the black teeth of an o-haguro look like separately from the owner.

Interestingly, at first only noble Japanese ladies painted their teeth black. Men limited themselves to whitening their faces and drawing eyebrows on their foreheads. They say that faces smeared with white were better visible in the dark halls of ancient palaces.

In the oldest Japanese chronicle, the Kojiki, dating back to the beginning of the 8th century, the beauty of girls with “delightfully black shiny teeth” is already glorified.
In the middle of the 8th century, the Chinese monk Ganjin, who arrived in Japan, brought a whole library of ancient Chinese literature, part of which was devoted to health care, personal hygiene and disease prevention. It is Ganjin who is credited with introducing the Japanese nobility to regular bathing, daily brushing of teeth and painting them the correct black color.

This is perhaps one of the oldest (if not the oldest) Japanese depiction of ladies with blackened teeth.
A fragment of a handwritten scroll dating back to the 12th century, Yamai no Soshi 病の草紙.
Closer view of the lady with black teeth:


So this is what it looked like, without embellishment.

It is not very clear when men joined the fashionable trend of blackening their teeth. According to some sources, the legendary Prince Shotoku painted his teeth in the 6th century, therefore.
According to other sources, the fashion for blackening teeth among the male part of the nobility was introduced already in the 12th century by Emperor Toba, who suffered terribly with his teeth, but loved to talk “about life” with his entourage. It is unknown who exactly suggested the sick tenno paint his teeth black and what his reasons were for this. But the emperor liked the idea. And the courtiers unanimously supported. Black teeth became one of the signs of belonging to the elite: only courtiers of at least 5th rank were allowed to wear makeup.

Girls began to paint their teeth as soon as they were recognized as adults, i.e. fit for marriage. Exact date There was no ancient Japanese age of majority; the age when a girl was considered an adult varied from 12 to 16 years. Probably, the age of majority in girls was tied to the onset of menstruation. However, if the girl’s parents urgently wanted to become related to someone noble, “coming of age” was set for 8-10 years.

Black teeth are preserved in Hina-ningyo dolls, representing the noble aristocracy of Heian times.
Face of Odairi-sama, the Emperor, from the Hina-ningyo set. Pulled from here.

In the story "Heike Monogatari", written at the beginning of the 13th century, blackening of teeth is already described as a samurai custom.

By the mid-15th century, black teeth had become a universal part of adult attire. The first ceremonial coloring of teeth for girls and boys took place on their coming of age, along with a change in hairstyle and clothing style. There was never a fixed date, however, and ages ranged from 10 to 16 years.

The black teeth craze has to some extent retained its imprint on Noh theater masks.

Men's mask "Juroku" (十六). Clickable. From here.

Clickable. Female mask "Fukai" (深井) of the Noh theater. Pulled from here.

During the calm and measured life of Edo times, women continued to paint their teeth. Black teeth served as a sign of a lady's maturity. If a girl managed to get married before she came of age, then a set for blackening her teeth was presented to her as a wedding gift. These sets were distinguished by their exquisite decoration, especially for the rich, and were decorated with family coats of arms.

Various Edo teeth staining kits. All pictures are clickable.

But among men, this habit gradually began to go away. And by the 19th century it had completely disappeared, remaining only in the most conservative aristocratic circles.
There are quite a few images of girls painting their teeth in Edo period prints.

Utagawa Utamaro.

Unknown artist.

It seems Utamaro too.

It's him.

The author was not specified.

Europeans also knew about the custom of Japanese women to blacken their teeth.

The engraving is apparently Dutch.

In the mid-19th century, by decree of Emperor Meiji, it was forbidden for members of the imperial family to paint their teeth. This was enough for the fashion for black teeth to die out, starting, of course, with women living in big cities.
But for especially conservative ladies, the production of ingredients for coloring teeth in modern and fashionable packaging was launched.

Packages of powder (one of the ingredients) for preparing a mixture that stains teeth. Late 19th century.

Engraving by Takehisa Yumeji (early 20th century) of a woman painting her teeth.

They say that in some places in remote provinces black teeth survived until the mid-20th century.

Cartoon by Kobayashi Kiyochika, early 20th century.

What did the inhabitants of medieval Japan use to color their teeth?
Since well-colored, shiny black teeth were the pride of a woman, the secret of good paint was kept in every family and passed down through generations from mother to daughter or from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. The exact composition is therefore quite varied. But classic recipe necessarily included the following three components:

1. "Fushiko" 五倍子粉 - powder of crushed galls (growths) of a local variety of sumac tree.
These are the nut-galls, the growth of which is said to be somehow provoked by insects or bacteria. These cones are collected, dried and ground into powder. This powder contains about 60-70% tannin - a tannin.

2. "Kane-mizu" 鉄漿水 - tincture on nails. Any solution of iron salts. Traditionally, it was made by steeping old glands in water for 2-3 months with the addition of green tea, yeast, mirin rice wine, salt and sugar to taste.

I found a blog whose author risked reproducing the old recipe for “kane-mizu” (which saved me personally from repeating this experiment, as some wits advised). On the left is a set of ingredients, on the right is the finished product.
During the Edo period, nail tincture was made in these cute ceramic buckets:

Nowadays, “kane-mizu” can be replaced with a banal solution of banal iron sulfate.

3. Powdered oyster shells or slaked lime.

These three components were mixed immediately before application in a bowl, giving that wonderful deep black color.

Actually, a similar recipe was known in Europe, and even in Russia. For most common inks.

Local dentists claim that tannin, which has bactericidal properties, in such a mixture protected tooth enamel from all sorts of misfortunes. And even prevented the development of caries.

However, the tincture on nails had a very bad smell. And the paint was not very durable. The procedure was recommended to be done ideally daily or at least once every three days.

If anyone takes a chance, here is a modernized recipe:
Fushiko (can be replaced oak bark), ferrous sulfate and slaked lime in a ratio of 3.5: 2: 1. Dilute with water to a minimum and apply immediately.

However, among individual categories Let me tell you, the style of painting your teeth black still exists today.
Tayu from Shimabara, Kyoto (click with caution, the sight up close is not for the faint of heart).
Tai's teeth have always been painted and are still painted to this day. Apparently, if this profession lasts, they will continue to paint. They are entitled, aristocrats, after all, to that same 5th rank.

Acting female faces of various historical processions and parades. For example, during

Teeth ink in ancient japan, Indochina and Russia.
The Mayans painted their teeth blue with turquoise and green with jade.
IN general view This custom also existed in Vietnam.

In Japan:
1/ According to ancient custom, before entering her husband’s house, the wife went to her relatives, who gave her a special “tooth” paint containing iron, after which the “first blackening” procedure began. Blackened teeth served as a symbol of ETERNAL DEVOTION to the spouse.
The importance of the ritual is confirmed by the saying: “Since the color black always remains black without changing, so will the relationship between husband and wife.”

2/L. Freusch describes the rite of blackening teeth “ohaguro”: “...European women brush their teeth to preserve their whiteness, while Japanese women use iron and vinegar to blacken their teeth and lips.”
This tradition came from the mainland, apparently from the Korean Peninsula. “Initially, the custom concerned only girls, but starting from the 11th century. (Heian era), the custom spread among the men of the court aristocracy. Samurai despised this style, but among representatives of the Taira house it was customary to follow this ritual. The custom survived until the Edo era (XVII-XIX centuries), when everyone married women they shaved their eyebrows and painted their teeth.”
Decoction for blackening teeth:
To make such a decoction, old pieces of iron and rice husks are used, which are soaked together and placed in a warm place for 3 days in the summer, and for 7 days in the winter, so that the rust is released. First, bee acid is applied to the teeth - a waste product of bees, which contains tannins, and then an iron decoction is applied. If you do this procedure several times, your teeth will turn black.
The solution prevented the appearance of cracks and pain in the teeth. Perhaps, with a lack of Japanese islands many vitamins that support dental health, and when levels are low dental care this ritual was to some extent a forced measure.
In Russia:
A. N. Radishchev “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “....Praskovya Denisovna, his newlywed wife, is white and rosy. Teeth like coal. A threaded eyebrow, blacker than soot.”
According to numerous testimonies of foreign visitors to Russia in the 16th-17th centuries. (Fletcher, Olearius, Petreus, Weber and others), the everyday side of Russian life struck their imagination.
For example, makeup: Russian women painted not only their faces, but also their bodies, hands, eyes with different colors; red, blue and dark colors, black eyelashes turned white, light ones darkened. Huge black eyes shone on this mask; Russian women owned the secrets of coloring (!) the whites of the eyes (allegedly the composition was made of metal soot, vodka and rose water). Moreover, they even blackened their teeth. In this case, it is “transforming necessity into decoration.” The teeth of the Russians, as is often the case among northern peoples who do not receive sufficient amounts of vitamins and calcium, were not distinguished by their whiteness.
(Even in the teaching instructions of the 17th century, which talked about the importance of daily washing, nothing was said about teeth and the need to brush them).
Noble women in Muscovy used mercury white, after brushing their teeth instantly became white, but long-term use This method of cleaning tooth enamel led to the destruction of teeth first, and then to poisoning female body generally. To prevent damaged teeth from being distinguished from healthy ones, women smeared them with a special black compound.

***As for where the custom came from, in Italy around the 15th century they began to blacken teeth with antimony, and Catherine and Maria de Medici brought this custom to France, from where it spread across Europe and reached Russia.

One of the keys to success for a modern metropolitan resident is a dazzlingly white and even smile. However, in different cultures, “dental” fashion differs from European fashion.

Gold teeth

Placing gold crowns on teeth is a fairly common practice. You can hardly meet a resident Central Asia without a gold tooth, at least one, and among the gypsies the presence of a gold crown means the possession of a certain gift, because these people believe in magical properties noble metal. Also, among many peoples, gold symbolizes wealth and wealth.

Uzbek man with gold teeth

In the Caucasus and Central Asia, residents of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan have been placing gold crowns on the teeth of girls before their wedding for many centuries. In this way, the bride's family showed respect and respect to the groom's family. Also, gold teeth were some kind of guarantor of a woman’s independence: if her husband suddenly decides to kick her out of the house without a penny in his pocket, she will not remain in poverty, because gold crowns can be easily sold.

On the contrary, in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, only women of the most ancient profession have always been “marked” with gold teeth - gold spoke of their accessibility.

Today, some world stars periodically wear gold mouthguards to attract everyone's attention, for example Madonna and Rihanna.

Sharp teeth

In some Vietnamese and Sudanese tribes sharp teeth- the result of an ancient ritual, and not a tribute to fashion. The practice of sharpening teeth is quite painful, the procedure is performed by a local priest, and it is carried out without any anesthesia. By the way, a similar ritual was widespread among the Mayan tribe, and the Indians not only sharpened their teeth, but they applied various patterns to them and inserted precious stones into the crowns. This served as a sign of distinction and nobility.

Teeth filing ceremony in Bali - ritual and celebration

In Bali, teeth are not sharpened, but filed, but do not think that this procedure is more pleasant than sharpening. Once young people reach the age of 18, a special ceremony is held to drive away evil spirits. Before the ceremony, teenagers pray according to Hindu customs for two weeks. It is believed that sharp fangs bring a lot to their owner. negative emotions and poison life. Such teeth are also associated with evil spirits and wild animals, so they are “smoothed out.” During a beautiful ceremony, when girls and boys put on formal dresses, gold headdresses and make-up, the fangs are cut down. The tooth dust is then buried in the family temple.

They say that if you do not go through the ritual of cutting down your teeth, then after death you will never find peace, because all six main ones remain with you. negative qualities that are removed during cutting: anger, pride, greed, jealousy, craving for alcohol and lust.

Crooked teeth

The Japanese, as often happens, were ahead of the rest in terms of “dental” fashion: crooked teeth are popular with them. If nature has endowed a Japanese with an ideal row of snow-white teeth, then he immediately runs to the dentist’s office, where he performs a special procedure to correct crooked teeth. On average it costs $400.

Many Japanese are willing to endure pain and spend hundreds of dollars to get “fashionable” crooked teeth.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, protruding front teeth and malocclusion- a reason to brag. Ceramic clips are often placed on the teeth to create the appearance of crooked teeth. This trick is called yaeba, which means "double tooth".

The height of fashion in Japan is ceramic onlays for fangs. They are made sharp, protruding forward and long. It is believed that this “decoration” gives girls a resemblance to representatives of the cat family, and also adds femininity and grace.

Yaeba enjoys in great demand and the guys. Even older Japanese people often turn to dentists for crooked teeth. These people associate curvature with youth and childishness. It turns out that in this way the Japanese strive to “stop the moment” of youth. Well, some need Botox injections, and some have crooked teeth. A European will definitely not understand this.

Missing teeth

The fashion for removing front teeth is widespread in Cape Town (South Africa), and it’s called passion gap. The literal translation of this phrase can be “gate of passion,” and local residents consider the absence of upper front teeth to be part of their culture. For sixty years now they have been coming to dental offices requesting removal of incisors upper jaw. However, sometimes more teeth are removed.

Worker on a sugar plantation in South Africa

Rumor has it that such an unusual tradition is associated with the sexual preferences of South Africans. According to a more plausible version, the locals simply turned a disadvantage into an advantage. Firstly, teeth deteriorated from a lack of vitamins. Secondly, there are a lot of fishermen living in Cape Town who were the first to remove their front teeth to make it easier to whistle louder. Now, however, local fishermen remove their front teeth much less often than gangsters and fashionistas.

In 2003, a survey was conducted in Cape Town on who modified their teeth and how. It turned out that 41% of residents resort to tooth extraction, most of them are women.

In place extracted teeth Often, implants are placed that are decorated with jewelry, gold or platinum and have an unusual design.

This fashion is increasingly spreading among teenagers. For them, tooth extraction is a way to show individuality. However, those who are helped to get rid of their teeth not in the cozy cross of a dentist, but in the backyard of a school during a fight, still deserve the greatest respect. It will be painful, but it will be something to tell the girls.

Black teeth

Blackening of teeth is an amazing practice that has even affected Russia. This custom has been known since the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, father of Peter I, and persisted in some provinces until the beginning of the 20th century. A black tooth was a symbol of belonging to a noble family. The custom was explained by a lack of vitamins and essential minerals. To prevent their teeth from looking too damaged and yellow, noblewomen resorted to a trick: they inked one or two of their teeth, and against their background the rest looked white.

There is another interpretation, according to which black enamel was evidence of wealth. Everyone knows that sugar causes tooth decay. In Rus' it was very expensive, and only the nobility could afford it. It turns out that the tooth could turn black from excessive consumption of sugar and indicate the wealth of the owner.

Over time, the tradition of blackening teeth in Japan became a sign of a married woman.

The tradition of blackening teeth was once popular in Japan. In some ancient engravings you can see geishas with teeth blackened with varnish - it was believed that the blackness of the varnish further emphasized the snow-white skin of the geisha. However, this tradition also had a utilitarian meaning: the varnish compensated for the lack of iron, helping to keep teeth intact and healthy. The tradition was popular among the Japanese aristocracy until the 17th century, and subsequently became associated with married women who were faithful to their husbands. Today, the procedure is popular among show business stars and participants in holidays and religious celebrations.

The modern tradition of blackening teeth is preserved among the Gujaratis (a people living in India), as well as in Nigeria, Morocco, some communities in Vietnam, Sumatra and the Akha tribe (a people living in southern China). The indigenous population of the island of Java has black teeth, just like in 19th century Japan, a sign of a married woman.

Photo: David Hume Kennerly / Contributor / Getty Images, Eric Lafforgue / Art in All of Us / Contributor / Getty Images, Koichi Kamoshida / Staff / Getty Images, David Turnley / Contributor / Getty Images, John Stevenson / Contributor / Getty Images

Before the Meiji era (from 1868 to 1912), in Japan, southeastern China and Southeast Asia, there was a fairly popular ritual of teeth blackening - ohaguro. A special paint was made for it, the main component of which was a dark brown solution of iron in acetic acid (for this, iron filings were dissolved in vinegar). The solution was then mixed with vegetable tannins, such as powdered gall powder from Sumac tanninosa (a type of small deciduous tree). And after this, the solution acquired a black color and became insoluble in water. Typically, the dye was applied once every one or several days. At the end of the Heian period (from 794 to 1185), men and women from aristocratic families who had reached adulthood, as well as servants of large temples, painted their teeth black in this way. First of all, this was done for beauty, but also with practical purpose: special black paint for teeth prevented the appearance of caries. In addition, the persistence of black paint on the teeth of married women was associated with endless fidelity to their husband. During the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), ohaguro was observed only among adults. However, at the beginning of the Sengoku period, which lasted until the beginning of the 17th century, girls between the ages of 8 and 10 who were the daughters of military leaders began to blacken their teeth. All this was done in order to show that the girl had reached adulthood (although this was not the case) and to quickly marry her off to a profitable candidate. And after the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), this tradition almost became obsolete. Blackened teeth smelled bad, the blackening process itself took a long time and began to be associated with approaching old age. For these reasons, teeth blackening was done only by men and married women, as well as girls who were over 18 years old, from imperial and aristocratic families. Simple people They only blackened their teeth for special occasions, such as wedding ceremonies, funerals, and matsuri (holidays similar to festivals in modern Japan). The ohaguro tradition gradually died out after 1873, when the Empress of Japan decided that she would no longer blacken her teeth and appeared in public with white teeth. These days, blackened teeth are extremely rare to see in older women in Southeast Asia. It is interesting that in the 17th century in Russia, along with the use of whitewash and rouge, blackening of teeth among ladies of high society was also common. The lead white they used was known to have a detrimental effect on their health and their dental health in particular. Therefore, in order to hide imperfections (cavities), women blackened their teeth. And later, white teeth even became a sign that a woman does not use whitewash, and therefore does not care about her beauty.

The unusual tradition of blackening teeth has existed in Japan since ancient times, at least since the 5th century, and in an ancient Chinese treatise on the Japanese islands it is referred to as the “country of the black-toothed”. In different historical periods The custom of blackening teeth, or ohaguro, was unequally widespread among representatives of Japanese society. But in one form or another, this unusual ritual survived until the 20s of the 20th century.

According to researchers, initially the tradition of blackening teeth was exclusively practical significance. By applying a special solution to the teeth, the Japanese thereby protected the enamel and prevented aging. As archaeological excavations show, the remains of the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago, dating back to the 3rd-6th centuries AD, already contain traces of the use of ohaguro.

The mixture for ohaguro consisted of a solution of iron and acetic acid, which had dark brown color. To obtain it, it was necessary to lower a red-hot iron rod into a mixture of water and sake and keep it there for a week. To give ohaguro a black color, a special dye was added to the solution - an ingredient from the sumac plant. For achievement best effect the solution had to be applied daily, which was quite a hassle.

Until the 12th century, the ohaguro tradition was widespread in all levels of Japanese society. Members of the imperial family, ministers of Buddhist temples and most ordinary Japanese resorted to blackening their teeth. But at the same time, the military did not use protective mixtures for teeth. Gradually, the ohaguro tradition acquired another meaning: young boys and girls blackened their teeth during the coming of age ceremony, thereby making it clear to others that they were ready for marriage.

In the period from approximately the 15th to the 17th centuries, ohaguro was used in a narrow circle of the nobility and the imperial family. Apart from them, only young girls who were too early to get married used ohaguro. After the 17th century, Japanese society cooled towards ohaguro. Its use was practiced by members of the imperial family, mature ladies and noble men. This custom was also common among geisha and yujo (women who provided sexual services). For most Japanese, black teeth have become associated with old age.

In 1870, in the wake of Japan's refusal of self-isolation and its turn to the Western world, a decree was issued prohibiting members of the imperial family and representatives of the upper classes from making ohaguro. Against this background, the rest of the population of the archipelago began to resort to the traditional procedure less often, and by the 20s of the last century, ohaguro had disappeared completely.

Today, the tradition of teeth blackening, which has existed for over a thousand years, is found mainly in the field of traditional Japanese art. Actors of historical theaters, participants in religious ceremonies, as well as geishas are the few who use ohaguro. But this is more of a tribute to tradition than a ritual of protecting teeth.