also: けわいりょう
pin money; pocket money for cosmetics
Only with reading けしょうりょう
Historical term for a woman's personal allowance, especially for cosmetics and small luxuries. Also used for payment to a cosmetician.
In the Edo period, daughters of wealthy merchant families received pin money as an allowance.
cosmetic material; cosmetics
Only with reading けしょうりょう
Refers to the physical substances used for makeup and skincare. Less common than 化粧品 in modern Japanese.
This shop carries high-quality cosmetic materials.
dowry (Edo period)
Specifically refers to a dowry in the context of Edo-period marriages. The reading けわいりょう is historically associated with this sense.
When a samurai's daughter married, land and goods were prepared as a dowry.
Standard kanji spelling for the common reading けしょうりょう.
Historical reading けわいりょう, used in the Edo-period dowry sense.
Compound of 化粧 (makeup, cosmetics) and 料 (fee, material, charge). The historical reading けわいりょう reflects older pronunciation of 化粧 as けわい.