Recreating Wooden Nasal Epithesis Using 17th Century Materials and Techniques.

Abstract

In Japan, during the Edo period (1603-1868), syphilis was widespread, and many people were left with missing noses. Records suggest that expert craftsmen made professional wooden artificial noses (nasal epitheses) for such patients. However, no artificial noses that were actually inserted have been found to date, probably because they corrode after being buried with the body. Therefore, this study attempts to reproduce an artificial nose using the same materials and methods as those used during the period. However, there are no records of how to create artificial noses; therefore, the author inferred this from the creation of wooden plate dentures and Noh masks. Boxwood was used as a wooden plate denture, and the inside of the epithesis was hollowed to reduce weight. The inside could be contaminated by nasal mucus or exudates, which were lacquered with Japanese raw lacquer, similar to Noh masks. The skin surface of the epithesis was colored with Japanese paint and finished with beeswax. The method of fixing nasal epitheses is unknown; however, the author considered the possibility of using a colorless transparent silk thread (tegus) or an adhesive. Nasal epitheses that must have been used during the Edo period can be reproduced without difficulty.