tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post543198490450857740..comments2023-09-12T06:19:46.109-07:00Comments on J. A. Beard's Unnecessary Musings: The Age of Tranquility and Peace: Heian Japan #10: Beautiful impracticality-Women's Court DressJ.A. Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13866515198865656164noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post-30171989643567641052014-12-13T17:54:27.556-07:002014-12-13T17:54:27.556-07:00I love the symmetry of disgusting beauty.I love the symmetry of disgusting beauty.J.A. Beardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13866515198865656164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post-65950158854209290842014-12-13T17:02:36.554-07:002014-12-13T17:02:36.554-07:00Some of the whitening agent was made from swallows...Some of the whitening agent was made from swallows manure.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811397972791091742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post-55963889514942069412011-12-15T16:18:17.488-07:002011-12-15T16:18:17.488-07:00Thanks. Hmm. Quite an extreme way of saying that y...Thanks. Hmm. Quite an extreme way of saying that you are not tanned. Your face should show that, lol. But that is fashion for you!<br /><br />I hope people never think that we dress like what is seen on some catwalks!Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post-44816820820000742582011-12-15T16:04:39.341-07:002011-12-15T16:04:39.341-07:00Well, originally they borrowed the practice from t...Well, originally they borrowed the practice from the Chinese, but really the whitened skin is a symbolic class difference thing.<br /><br />Rich/powerful/high-status people sit inside or in gardens with nice little parasols, protected from the sun. <br /><br />The working class is out in the fields earning a tan. So having pure white skin is the ultimate expression of "I don't have to labor like some low-status commoner."<br /><br />Of course, whitening spread out in different contexts, but that was the fundamental basis of it in the Heian era.J.A. Beardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13866515198865656164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155069596450207630.post-73113895014308175292011-12-15T15:44:39.962-07:002011-12-15T15:44:39.962-07:00Good heavens. It seems that fashion outranks comfo...Good heavens. It seems that fashion outranks comfort and practicality everywhere in history. <br /><br />Any idea why they chose to whiten their faces?Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.com