Komachi-beni</> signboard

Komachi-beni, carved in the signboard, is a trademark that started to be used in the late Edo Period for high-grade rouge. At first, the Komachi-beni trademark was used by the beni-ya Beniya-Heiemon (known as Benihei) at Fuya-cho Higashi, Shijo-dori, Kyoto. “Komachi” was named for Onono Komachi, who was a poet in the early 9th century. Legend has it that she was a woman of great beauty. Her name was therefore used for women’s cosmetics, and for the beni-ya she was an icon connecting beauty with beni.
Japan, however, did not yet have a trademark system, which was first established in 1884, and Komachi-beni was used by many beni-ya in addition to Benihei. Therefore, ganso, which means “originator,” was written on many of Benihei’s flyers. Since the late Edo Period to the present, Komachi-beni has been the trademark of high-grade lip rouge with an iridescent green glow.