The weirdest thing you can find in feudal Japanese

Japanese pharmacies tend to confuse first-time tourists. The first few steps are very familiar as you walk through rows of masks, toothbrushes, shampoos, etc. But then the choice starts to get very wide. Cosmetics, fresh meat and produce, a variety of alcohols (sometimes including top brands) – it’s easy to find sex toys even in stores that allegedly sell medicines. But this has been more than 400 years. Back to the Edo period (1603–1867), Japanese pharmacist (Kusuri-ya), a store to carry Yakushu (Pharmaceuticals) and Travel Medicine Sellers/Herbals sometimes contain the most surprising things in their stock, such as:

Japanese Nightingale (utagawa hiroshige) (c.1830s)

Birds (for your face)

The mid-term period was a huge boom for the Japanese merchant class, which wanted to go crazy with its newly acquired fate, just like buying animals Nothing was done! They are not for food, nor for good luck, nor for protection. They just… are there. Now, we call these “pets”, but for the 18th century civilians, the idea is very new. Birds are particularly popular and in addition to bringing joy and songs to many families, they also create a New (weird) job: Bird Fight Buyer (Tori-no-fun-gai).

Honey is a very popular ingredient designed to whiten and moisturize the face, treat skin ailments and help remove white makeup from Kabuki actors and geishas. People not only throw seeds on the ground, but then stand under branches, with their faces facing the bird pointed on their faces, because “platinum” is not fresh. It must first be carefully dried and powdered – preferably from the Japanese shrub warbler, which produces highly precious uguisu-no-fun (Japanese nightingale feces).

Customers at Edo Pharmacy can buy powder and mix it with rice bran food themselves, or buy butter and ointment made from the root of the bane from modern statues everywhere. The craziest thing is that the face of these stools is obviously effective due to the enzymes and amino acids of stools, and it is still available in some high-end spas. But hey – One element of modern perfume pursues is derived from the Ambergris of whale vomit or stool, so it’s not the craziest idea in the world.

Portrait of a man in Josum Hill (Yotsumeya) handed over to chomeigan

Aphrodsiacs: Enter books here

Product placement does not start with TV. In Japanese feudalism, popular authors usually mention real restaurants, cosmetics, and medicines (who have stakes) in their stories, because even hundreds of years ago, writing was something that required side-hustle busyness. The best-selling writer Shikitei Sanba makes a lot of money from his medical shop, and his books often mention inventory, such as Edo no Mizu (Edo Water) Facial Lotion and His Tooth Powder Brand.

However, as we mentioned earlier, the person who likes to read the most during Edo in Japan is Stories about prostitutesthose who often promote aphrodisiacs. Historically, Japan’s enhanced sexual behavior was done through powdered animal parts or specific foods fugu (Pufferfish). Japanese pharmacies usually carry these, but people real What you want is the topical balm mentioned in the porn story, and it is also a guide to the Edo Red Light District.

For women, there is Nyoetsugan (Women’s Joy Medicine) is a special cream that is said to enhance the feeling and even has its own slogan: “If she doesn’t chant, she will moan with Nyoetsugan!” Attractive. On the other hand, men (or any appendage) have chomeigan (longevity) ointment. Both aphrodisiacs are easily available in Yotsumeya, a…a specialist pharmacy located somewhere near modern Ryogoku, which may also come with adult toys, potentially making it the first in Japan Sex shop.

Utaro (C.-Mid-1790s) Apply Beauty Makeup

White death

During the Edo era, women’s makeup revolved around only three colors: white, red and black, and their specific combination made everyone know the wearer’s age, marital status, and social class without having to talk to others. Indeed, this is an introvert paradise.

The black coloring, which can be achieved with calligraphy ink, certain dark vegetables or crops, or even light bulb ash, is usually used on the teeth to mark a woman as married. Once a woman is born, she will reach for her black shaving and re-paint her eyebrows. As NOH makeup shows, aristocratic background is repainted on high powder near the hairline.

Red is the only bright color that Edo-Period women can find in pharmacies. It originates from the Saffron Society and is the color that applies youth to their cheeks, nails or lips. However, the most important part of feudal makeup is the white foundation that makes black and red popular.

For the same reasons as in the West, white skin in Japanese feudalism is considered a microcosm of delicate feminine beauty: it lets people know that you are rich or noble and don’t have to work outside. Nothing is more blue collar than tan. There is another saying “light skin masks the other seven defects”, so every good Edo pharmacy carries Oshiroi White face powder, although sometimes applied to chest. Oshiroi was also purchased in bulk by Kabuki actors and geisha.

It turns out this is unfortunate because the main ingredient of Oshiroi is lead. Used every day, people will soon get caught in lead poisoning. Symptoms include everything from hair loss to skin lesions, organ failure and even death. This may have inspired the creation of Oshiroi Baba Yokai (Supernatural Creature), a very ugly old woman in toxic face powder that requires makeup or sake from travelers on the road. Lead-based cosmetics were only banned in 1934, and it is impossible to say what the final death toll was. Beauty is indeed pain.

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