Heian Cosmetics

[Tsuneko]

Salutations, Noble Friends!

Do any among you have a recommended reference for Heian-period cosmetics (recipes, sources, etc.)? I don't expect I'm brave enough to try any of them, but for an upcoming A&S project it would be VERY good to be able to explain why that is.

Thank you for your invaluable time and wisdom.

Tsuneko

[Saionji Shonagon]

I will try to respond after work. In the meantime, however, you might want to search the terms "ohaguro," "oshiroi," and "uguisu no fun" in the meantime.

EDIT: OK, this is a bit more cursory than I remembered, however, it's from Liza Dalby's website and may be helpful: www.lizadalby.com/LD/TofM_cosmet.html

[Ōgiyame no Emi]

I highly recommend Cho Kyo's "The Search for the Beautiful Woman": www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Beautiful-Woman-Cultural-Perspectives/dp/1442218932.

I bought my copy as an aid in researching the standards of beauty for Japan's Heian period, and it offered some very interesting insights into make-up, deportment and (ideal) body image. My only quibble is that the content leans heavily towards Chinese rather than Japanese info, with much of the Japanese sections being Edo related or later. However since Heian Japan modelled its own culture on the Chinese, much of what is true for China is true for Japan in terms of feminine beauty: they shared a love of pale skin, petit mouths, and demure ways.

Most interesting is that two forms of facial makeup were required to create the coverted level of whiteness; fen meaning split rice, made by crushing or pounding rice into powder, and quianfen, lead powder. The book's sources stress that rice powder alone will not stick to the face without the addition of quianfen; the recommended ratio is one part lead to three parts rice. (Chestnuts or foxtail millet may be ground in place of rice, but care should be taken to blend facial powders from one grain only at a time.)

Lead is of course poisonous, though it has long been used in many cultures as a makeup. It gives a smooth, pearl-like radiance. If I had to guess, I'd say this fen/quianfen mixture is what some ladies referred to as "white Chinese earth".

~~~

Other Heian beauty treatments include:

* Reddening the lips with safflower-crimson (beni)
* Removing the brows with tweezers, to replace them with courtly smudges using lampblack (haizumi)
* Blackening the teeth with fermented iron solution (ohaguro)
* Combing or rinsing the hair with rice-water (yusuru)

[Hakuga]

Tsuneko-Hime,

Camellia oil (pressed from the seeds of the camellia tree) was used by ladies to dress their hair, I believe. Also, if you wish to try rice powder foundation, try blending some almond oil or coconut oil with it to achieve a paste consistency. This may aid in adhesion, provided that the particles are very fine.

However, could the "white Chinese earth" be kaolin clay? The stuff also produces a fine, white powder, and I recall seeing it in an ingredient list for a 100% mineral foundation. Porcelain skin indeed.

I hope this may be of help to you.

-Hideaki

[Tsuneko]

Thank you all so much! This is so helpful, and I appreciate your wisdom.