Anthropometric Comparison of Portraits of Korean and Japanese Beauty in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries

Abstract

The aim of this study is to elaborate comparative portraits of Korean and Japanese beauty in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Six portraits of beauty in the Korean Joseon Dynasty (early 19th century) and 5 in Japanese Edo Dynasty (late 18th century) were analyzed. Twenty anthropometric items were applied to the measure of the features on each portrait and 18 proportional indices of the face were calculated. Among the 18 indices, Korean and Japanese beauty did not show any significant differences in 13, but in 5: 1) the ratio of eye fissure to intercanthal distance was greater in Japanese beauty; 2) eye inclination was greater in Japanese beauty; 3) the ratio of nasal width to intercanthal distance was greater in Japanese beauty; 4) the ratio of nasal and facial width was greater in Korean beauty; and 5) the ratio of vermilion size to mouth width was greater in Japanese beauty. It is assumed that Korean had narrower eye fissure, lower eye inclination, wider nasal ala, and thinner lip than what Japanese craved during that era.