working at large temples, dyed their teeth. In particular, the Imperial family and other high-ranking aristocrats who had finished their (ceremony where a child is fitted with a ) blackened their teeth and painted their eyebrows (). This was done in the Imperial household until the end of the Edo era. In the Muromachi period (1336–1573), was generally seen among adults, though when the Sengoku period (1467–1615) began, so as to prepare for political marriages of convenience, when the daughters of military commanders were around 8 to 10 years old, they would blacken their teeth as a marking of their coming of age. Relatives and guardians of the bride who blackened their teeth were called . It is said that military commanders who were struck in the head on the battlefield and who did not want to be ugly would wear average women's makeup and would blacken their teeth. These faces imitated the Noh masks of women and young boys. After the Edo period (1603–1867), only men of the Imperial House of Japan and the aristocracy blackened their teeth. Due to the odor and labor required for the process, as well as a feeling among young women that they were ageing, was done only by married women, unmarried women who were older than 18, sex workers and geisha. For rural people, was done only at times of special celebrations, such as Japanese festivals, wedding ceremonies, and funerals. There were also depictions of in fairy tales, such as "Gon, the Little Fox". On February 5, 1870, the government banned and the process gradually became obsolete. After the Meiji period, it temporarily spread, but it almost entirely died out in the Taishō period (1912–1926). In contemporary times, the only places where can be seen is in plays, on some older apprentice geisha, some festivals, and movies. Vietnam In Vietnam, tooth painting was practiced by the majority Vietnamese people as well as by minority ethnic groups. Si La men paint their teeth red and the women paint theirs black. This practice has slowly declined with each new generation. The Baiyue in southern China and northern Vietnam also practiced teeth blackening. When Han Chinese ruled the Vietnamese in the Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam due to the Ming dynasty's conquest during the Ming–Hồ War, they imposed the Han Chinese style of men wearing long hair on short haired Vietnamese men. The Vietnamese people were