Why were white faces with black teeth and chrysanthemum eyebrows popular among Japanese women in ancient times?

The so-called white face, black teeth and chrysanthemum eyebrows are, in modern terms, black teeth, no eyebrows and a face covered in a lot of white powder. To this day, the look is still sought after by some Japanese, and geisha are a typical example of this.

So, why is this makeup so popular?

When it comes to the reason for the popularity of these makeups, it is necessary to go back to the history. According to Japanese historical data, this kind of makeup has been in Japan since the Heian period, and it was popular from the upper class. And this way of gradually developing the popularity from the top to all the people is actually the most common popular way in ancient society. This kind of makeup still existed until the Shogunate era, and slowly withered away until the Meiji Restoration.

It is well known that Japan in ancient times has always been more worship of Chinese culture, the repatriation of Tang Dynasty envoys and so on in an endless stream, in order to learn China's system, culture and so on. Until now, Japan's culture still strongly retains the cultural characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. The white face, black teeth and chrysanthemum eyebrow costume are actually related to the Tang Dynasty, or more accurately, the white face and chrysanthemum eyebrow.

The economy of the Tang Dynasty was very prosperous, and beautiful women were also very popular, a situation of song and dance. Along with this, the songstress industry was also very developed. At that time, the night of the Tang Dynasty only lanterns, if you need to dance must be recognizable. Therefore, it was necessary to make the face very white to make the blush more obvious, and the chrysalis eyebrows were because Tang Dynasty women liked to shave off all their eyebrows.

So, it can be said that such a custom is completely inherited from Chinese culture, but continues to flourish within it.