Room for Innovation: The Meiji Era as a Turning Point in Beauty

by kataokatetsuya October 6, 2025

Powdered skin and natural looking eyebrows.
The smile of the Empress, who had stopped blackening her teeth, changed the aesthetic sense of the era.
The Meiji period was a transitional period in which tradition and the West collided and beauty was reconstructed.

The Meiji Period: The Beginning of Restoration and Modernization

In 1868, the Meiji Restoration brought an end to the Edo Shogunate.
Japan began its journey towards becoming a modern nation.

• Civilization and Enlightenment: Railways, mail, Western clothing, Western cuisine, and Western aesthetics flowed in. • Abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures and educational reform: Reform of the social system and spread of education. • Redefinition of arts and crafts: The Western concept of "Fine Art" was introduced, and the word "bijutsu" (art) was born.

During this period, Japanese people began to question for the first time what beauty is.
This is also the origin of the "meaningful beauty" that WABISUKE depicts.

A clash of beauty: Sensibility swaying between Japanese and Western styles

• Change in cosmetic culture: Abolition of blackened teeth and shaved eyebrows. A shift towards natural beauty.
• Modernization of hairstyles: The Sokuhatsukai (soryu-kai) proposed braids and upstyles. From Japanese hairstyles to Western hairstyles.
• Changes in clothing: Japanese clothing with Western umbrellas and shoes. The beauty of a mix of Japanese and Western styles colors the city.

These changes were an attempt to reconstruct tradition rather than reject it.
This is exactly what WABISUKE aims for: "tranquility amidst innovation."

Cosmetics and Fragrances: Western Technology and Japanese Sensibility

• The advent of soap: From bran and washing powder to scented Western-style soap.
• Creams and beauty treatments: Western-style skin care is introduced, and beauty awareness increases.
• The beginning of perfume culture: Geisha and upper-class women wear Western fragrances.

Fragrance is a symbol of invisible beauty.
It is the beauty of the space that envelops emotions, which is also connected to the incense culture of the Heian period.

The Birth of the Term "Bijutsu" (Art) - Importing and Redefining the Concept

• 1873 Vienna World Exposition: Japan uses the word "art" for the first time • From functionality to aesthetic value: From everyday tools to works of spirituality • The boundary between crafts and art: Lacquerware, ceramics, and textiles are reevaluated as "art objects"

During this period, Japanese people began to put into words the concept of "beauty."
This was also the beginning of WABISUKE's exploration of the relationship between words and beauty.

Meiji and WABISUKE: The Aesthetics of Reconstruction

The Meiji era was not an era of destroying traditions, but an era of questioning them.
Wavering between Japanese and Western styles, people began to weave together a new aesthetic sense.

• The intersection of tradition and innovation • Rediscovering invisible beauty • Reconstructing sensibility

The beauty of this era is the serenity that exists amidst change.
And a structure of meaningful beauty that can be passed down to the future.