Hi! This is Sarah in Tokyo. Are you interested in kabuki-makeup?
Koshiro Matsumoto, one of the kabuki stars, made the makeup video under the state of emergency in Japan. Usually, you can’t look behind the scenes of kabuki. If there wasn’t a corona outbreak, we couldn’t have seen it. Therefor, I have mixed feelings.
Anyway, this makeup video is intriguing.
Since the video is in Japanese, I’ve put the English explanation below.
The video contains the makeup processes of tachiyaku(leading male-role actor) face, and then Kumadori (shading) face. I have explained the first one this time and will explain the second one next time.
0:00~ Koshiro said “It is the first time for me to disclose the makeup process.”
0:51~ 1. Shaving: He shaved all his eyebrows as a preparation!! “Some other people use bintsukeabura (hair oil), for their eyebrows instead.”
2:25~ 2. Base: He put bintsukeabura on his face, and then put face powder. “The same as normal makeup, applying the base, bintsukeabura, evenly is the most important.”
3:40~ 3. Oshiroi(white power foundation): He applied oshiroi with water over his face. “The key is the bold and speedy brush stroke.” Then he patted his face with a sponge. “I can put face powder evenly if the base is even. Therefore, the base is the key, as I said.” Then he apply face power again to keep his face smooth.
5:14~ 4. Nose: He added oshiroi to his nose to make his nose high bridged. “Applying white (oshiroi) on white makes the naturally defined nose.”
5:49~ 5. Mehari (eye makeup): He applied eyeliner. “The color is nasukon (eggplant) made by mixing beni (crimson, deep red) and little sumi (india ink, black). Symmetrical lines are the basic.”
6:30~ 6. Lip: He applied the same color on his lip. ”Tachiyaku, (leading male-role actor) uses his finger for his lip, while nimaime (handsome man) and onnagata (female-role actor) usually use a makeup brush.”
6:50~ 7. Eyebrows: He drew his eyebrows with matted aburazumi (special pigment for eyebrows).
8:03~ 8. Mehari, again: He added eyelines.
8:39~ 9. Mascara: He wore mascara?! “Fortunately, My eyelashes are long. Therefore, applying mascara makes my eyes big. Mascara makes my eyes more elegant than thick eyelines do.”
9:14~ 10. Finished!: He finised tachiyaku (leading male-role actor) face.
He then started to do kumadori. I will explain it next time. See you!