Did all women have their teeth blackening in the Edo period?

Illustration: Women who are blacking their teeth painted by Utamaro Kitagawa

Illustration: Women who are blacking their teeth painted by Utamaro Kitagawa

Did all women have their teeth blackening in the Edo period?

In the Edo period, teeth blackening among those except court aristocracy died out. Common women, however, shaved their eyebrows and blackened their teeth after getting married. For teeth blackening, when liquid was warmed, it smelled. Therefore, married women blackened their teeth before their husbands got up. When travelling, they took instant teeth blackening powder with them.
Foreigners who visited Japan from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period criticized the Meiji government as they identified teeth blackening as discrimination against women. In 1868 and 1870 a ban on teeth blackening was enacted targeting the nobility but the custom did not alter. As Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken took the lead in stopping eyebrow shaving and teeth blackening in March 1873, teeth blackening among common people began fading out.

所在地

横浜市中区住吉町 6-68
神奈川県歯科保健総合センター(神奈川県歯科医師会館) 7 階
見学予約見学予約

神奈川県歯科医師会事務局に
前日までに予約をして下さい。

TEL: 045-681-2172

完全予約制(当日不可)

入館料入館料

無料

Googtle Mapで開く

Oral Health Online オーラルヘルスオンラインOral Health Online オーラルヘルスオンライン

神奈川県⻭科医師会が運営する情報発信メディア!
最新の⻭科治療についてご紹介しています。

こちらをクリック