page_title: Ziggy Stardust (character)
section_title: Makeup
hierarchical_section_title: Ziggy Stardust (character) / Appearance / Makeup
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 「歌舞伎十八番 押戻シ」 九世市川團十郎の青竹五郎 English: Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Aotake Gorō in Eighteen Notable Kabuki Plays: "Oshimodoshi" Japanese woodblock print by Torii Tadakiyo (鳥居忠清 1847 - 1929), depicting an actor in kumadori Kabuki makeup. May 1896. Along the right side is the mimasu crest of the Ichikawa Danjūrō line of kabuki actors, followed by the name "Ichikawa Danjūrō" (市川團十郎). Based on the date, the actor depicted is likely Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, who was active at the time. The script in the bottom-left corner is the artist's signature. Finally, the text at the top of the image, reading from right to left, reads 「歌舞伎十八番押戻シ」(Kabuki Jūhachiban Oshimodoshi), referring to the Kabuki Jūhachiban, the collection of eighteen great plays selected by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII. 「押し戻す」(oshi-modosu), meaning "to push back", may refer to a revival at the time of these great plays.
context_page_description: Ziggy Stardust was the persona which English musician David Bowie adopted in his concert tours across the United Kingdom, United States and Japan, a motion picture and as the eponymous character within the concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars from 1971 until Bowie’s retirement of the character in 1973 at a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, which was filmed and released on Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture. Ziggy Stardust performed with his backing band “the Spiders from Mars” in tours. The character was an “omnisexual", androgynous space alien who came to Earth as a messenger delivering messages of hope. He was meant to symbolise an over-the-top, sexually liberated rock star as a comment of the society in which celebrities are worshipped.
  The character’s exuberant fashion made Stardust and Bowie himself staples in the glam rock repertoire well into the 1970s, defining what the genre would become. The success of the character and its iconic look flung Bowie into international superstardom, however Bowie’s use of the character did not last long, as he made way for Aladdin Sane, his next persona.
context_section_description: In 1973, Bowie visited Japan and met the kabuki theatre star Tomasu Boru, who taught him about traditional Japanese makeup techniques. In an interview with Mirabelle magazine in 1973, Boru said: 
  David tells us that mostly all of his makeup comes from a little shop in Rome, Italy, that imports fantastic coloured powders and creams from India. (He's not telling the name of the store, however!!!) Basic essentials also include a white rice powder from Tokyo's Woolworth's equivalent - Indian kohl usually in black - for his eyes, which he smudges right along the lash line and sometimes a little bit on the outside. He also uses a very light liquid base, sometimes white - sometimes pink or yellow - and applies it with a damp sponge. For stage, David will often use an iridescent base, usually pure white. When he paints that gold circle on his forehead that's such a hit with his fans he uses a German gold base in cake form bought at New York's Makeup Centre. He also told us that the little Japanese brushes that the Makeup Centre has for applying powders and paints are much better than anything you can find in Japan.
  By the end of the Stardust period in 1973, Bowie would spend at least two hours before each concert to have his makeup done.
caption: An example of traditional Japanese kabuki makeup.
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