Aging-Related Changes of the Historical Japanese Beauty, Ono no Komachi (小野小町, 825–900 AD)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine how the aging-related changes of a beautiful woman were described in Japanese literature. A poem written by Ono no Komachi was reviewed. Images of her were also searched through Google search. Komachi’s poem in Hyakunin Isshu reads: “How the color has faded from the flowers. As I gaze in reverie at the falling rain, I find my beauty, too, has fallen in this world’s esteem.” Tamatsukuri Komachiko’s Death Book describes: “She became thin and looked tired. Her hair looks like a lotus with frost. Her skin resembles a frozen pear. Her bones stick out and her tendons are visible. Her face is dark, and her teeth are yellow”. Color woodblock print shows an old woman: She retains her intelligence and beauty even in her advanced years. Her posture was stooped, with a pronounced forward curvature of the spine, resulting as “turtle neck.” Her hair was long and gray. Visible signs of aging included forehead wrinkles, crow’s feet, deepened nasolabial folds, and marionette lines. Her upper jaw appeared retracted, a “witch’s chin.” She exhibited neck wrinkles as well as on her hands and wrists, which grasped a bamboo walking stick. Her eyes were sunken, accompanied by a drooping of the upper eyelids. We think that the narrative of her transformation into an ugly and poor woman was intended to convey to men the fleeting nature of women’s beauty, and to women that the power of beauty is not ultimately of major significance. Copyright © 2024 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD. All rights reserved.