Ok, I don't want to disrespect the Japanese culture and history but can someone fill me in on what the h was up w/ the old woman's teeth? Why were they black? Was that some sort of sign of social standing back then?
shareIt's called Ohaguro, a custom for married women until the Meiji era, then abandoned as Japan adopted Western customs and beauty ideals.
You rarely see it in Japanese samurai movies (especially after 1960) unless the director is very keen on historical accuracy (and the actress doesn't object, I suppose).
A recent example is Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins", where the young wife who is later raped and mutilated by the evil lord has her teeth blackened.
Just like the poster above said.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohaguro
Brother, yoµ can believe in stones, as long as yoµ don't throw them at me.