POLA is hosting the "Culture of Beauty" exhibition, an event showcasing Japanese makeup culture, at Space #1 on the first floor of the main building of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, from January 8th until the 14th.

The event focuses on the Edo to Meiji periods. The late Edo period in particular is said to be the period when Japan's unique makeup techniques matured. The venue will display approximately 100 items from the POLA Cultural Research Institute's collection, divided into five sections. The exhibition will feature makeup tools from the end of the Edo period through the Meiji period, as well as hair ornaments such as combs and kanzashi hairpins, and beauty books. The "Red Makeup" section will feature "beni choko" (red sake cup) and "beniita" (red beni board), containers for holding rouge, which was mainly used as lipstick; the "white makeup" section will feature traditional makeup foundation, the "oshiroi sandangasane" (three-tiered powder box), tools for powder makeup, and the beauty book "Josei Fuzoku Keshohiden" (Secrets of Women's Customs and Makeup), which was a best-seller from the Edo to Taisho eras; and the "black makeup" section will feature tools for blackening teeth and eyebrow makeup, as well as the Edo period scroll "Makesaku Kesho no Maki" (Eyebrow Makeup Scroll) which describes eyebrow makeup, and the instructional book for women "Onna Juhoki" (Women's Treasure Record). There will also be a booth showcasing intricately crafted combs, hairpins, and kanzashi (ornamental hairpins) that add elegance to the uniquely Japanese hairstyle "Nihongami," as well as historical Pola cosmetics and materials.