ohaguro(—?_??'): japanese custom of dyeing teet

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a very interesting custom.. 🙂

and there's this japanese ghost (or monster..), yokai, named ohaguro-bettari..
there are lots of ghost stories in japan..it's know that there are even hundreds of thousands of them, gods, and supernatural beings in japanese culture, folklore..I wonder why one country ha— so many ghosts and seem to be in love or, rather, cannot be disassociated from them..?
one another country which as far as I know has similar fashion is the uk.. lots of ghost stories exist in that country also.. and both japan and the uk being islands..I can't help but think that the geographies of those countries have something to do with the prevalence existence of ghosts in those countries.. like, it is said that ghosts cannot cross water, so islands tend to be a house, sort of a hoarder full of supernatural beings.. 🙂

it is very interesting to read about japanese ghosts, because they usually just appear out of nowhere, their intentions or purposes are unclear most of the time..and they're hard, or even impossible to be appeased..in opposition of ghost in other countries..those who can be exorcised or dispersed when their purposes (usually revenge) on this earth were done.. they seem to enjoy scaring off just anybody even those who have not them any wrong or harm.. very malicious beings at their core, this is why their existence gives one very chills running down one's spines.. no one knows why they want to harm us.. and thus we're clueless as in what to do to dispell them..

our fear most of the time is stemmed from 'unknown' - know nothing of the matter.. this is why most people are afraid of dark since the darkness impair our ability to make things out..things are blurry and we don't as much see and know as we do during the day.. not knowing what might be standing in the corner of a dark place or a room gives us unsettling feelings..
not knowing what is the purpose of the existence of one being is, thus, terrifying.. and we tend to distribute whatever is unknown to us some higher powers, like the god, or gods.. however since and with the rapid progress of science and technology, most of our old fears were cleared off and now we believe there's always an explanation or reason behind everything - isn't science a study of revealing those explanations and reasons?? - .. but still there are some fields us humans do not know much about and this is a very fascinating subject to think upon.. in my opinion

??_?_—'??_——?_
??_———_——?_

TRANSLATION: nothing but blackened teeth
ALTERNATE NAMES: often referred to as a kind of nopperab??
HABITAT: dark streets near shrines
DIET: unknown

APPEARANCE: Late at night a disturbing yokai can be seen loitering near temples and shrines, dressed in beautiful wedding clothes. She calls single young men over to her, who are seldom able to resist her charms. Until of course, they see her up close??_

From behind, an ohaguro-bettari looks like a beautiful woman wearing a kimono — often a newlywed in her bridal gown. She appears usually at twilight outside of a temple, or occasionally inside a man??s own house, disguised as his wife. At first, her head is concealed, or turned away from any viewers. Any man struck by curiosity who comes closer to speak to her or to get a better look at her face will be surprised as she turns to reveal her face: an ugly, white, featureless dome slathered in thick makeup, with nothing but a huge, gaping mouth full of blackened teeth. She follows up this initial shock with a horrible cackle, sending the man running away and screaming in terror.

ORIGIN: Ohaguro-bettari is very similar to noppera-b?? in appearance and demeanor. Because of this, she is often blamed, like noppera-b??, on a shape-shifting prankster kitsune, tanuki, or mujina looking to have a laugh at the expense of an unwitting human. It has also been suggested that she is the ghost of an ugly woman who was unable to marry. Accurate eye-witness reports are hard to come by due to the embarrassment of the victims at having fallen for such a silly gag. However as no deaths or injuries (other than to pride) have been attributed to ohaguro-bettari, and because sightings are rare, a mischievous shape-shifting animal yokai seems to be the most plausible explanation.


*http://yokai.com/ohagurobettari/

and si la men's red teeth.. interesting stuff also..

actually these give me some ideas for halloween costumes.. I might paint my teeth black or red hehe.. 🙂






and women's..




You will notice the brilliant red-stained teeth and lips of the local women. Betel nut is the cause. Green betel nut is a nut that grows in the tropical climates of South East Asia and is popular in the South Pacific Islands. It is chewed as part of social occasions or as a part of everyday life. Betel nut has a mild stimulant effect and in addition to reasons of tradition local people chew it for stress reduction, heightened awareness, and suppression of hunger.


*http://www.canyonsworldwide.com/canyonlovers/page/2/index.html

Posted by geminicandIe
This sounds like a good idea if you wanna give your husband a heart attack or make him never want to sleep with you again, LOL!

hehe true.. 🙂

I would dress up in some white night gown and paint my teeth black or red and turn my back towards him..and he comes closer and I look back, smile a silent smile.. boo!

..only if he has royally fucked things up with me :p

like this:







lol 🙂

Posted by geminicandIe
I wonder what would my colleagues say if I showed up to work with red lips and black teeth >.>

they'd call up police in..? lol

Strange. But very interesting without a doubt. I like reading about Japanese customs. They've always got my attention and interest.

Posted by geminicandIe
Maybe I'd be lucky to get fired?
I have been trying to get fired with no luck, I have had same job for long 14 years now!

lol...omg who the heck would want to look like that...lol

I wonder if dying your teeth hurts? Or like affects your ability to eat food.