The Colors of Japan: Beginning Remarks: Most All of Our Notes and Remarks Are Based on the Information Contained in “The Colors of Japan” by Sadao Hibi

Home , Beautiful Show

THE COLORS OF JAPAN: BEGINNING REMARKS: MOST ALL OF OUR NOTES AND REMARKS ARE BASED ON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN “THE COLORS OF JAPAN” BY SADAO HIBI. WE WILL DISCUSS THIS AND OTHER BOOKS THAT WE’VE BROUGHT AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM. AN ISSUE OF OUR I.I. MAGAZINE IN 2015 DEDICATES 12 PAGES WITH BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS TO JUST ONE OF THE COLORS WE WILL BE DISCUSSING…..RED.

WHEN WE THINK OF COLORS, ALL MANKIND SHARES BASIC COLORS. FUNDAMENTAL COLOR SENSATIONS COME TO ALL HUMAN BEINGS WITH NORMAL VISION. THINK OF RED---A WARM COLOR AND WE THINK OF BLOOD. FIRE. OR THE COLOR BLUE--- WE THINK OF THE SKY. SEA

COLORS MAY BE REPRESENTED BY SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A TRAFFIC LIGHT: THE COLOR RED IN MANY PLACES IN THE WORLD MEANS STOP. GREEN MEANS GO. HOWEVER, THE COLOR OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT (BOTTOM OF THE LIGHT) IS CALLED GREEN IN THE WEST; HOWEVER, IT IS CALLED BLUE IN JAPAN----GREEN ONIONS ARE CALLED BLUE ONIONS--- (SEEING THE UNDERTONES OF THE BLUE/GREEN IN THE GREEN OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT OR VEGETABLE) THE NAMING OF COLORS IS BASED ON WAYS THAT HIGHLIGHT LOCALLY SIGNIFICATE ASPECTS. HOWEVER, OTHER GREENS ARE CALLED GREEN IN JAPAN ALSO. DIFFICULTIES ARISE IN LEARNING LANGUAGES AND IN SPEAKING OF COLORS. THROUGHOUT THE BOOK ARE HISTORICAL REFERENCES RE NAMES OF COLORS AND THE USE OF COLORS.

AGRICULTURE WAS THE SOLE MEANS OF PRODUCTION IN ANCIENT JAPAN….SO IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT LITERATURE AND ART ARE CHARACTERIZED BY CLOSE TIES WITH NATURE AND THE SEASONS. THE NAMES OF COLORS CAME TO BE DOMINATED BY ALLUSIONS TO PLANT LIFE.

EMIKO SAYS THAT TODAY IN JAPAN YOU MAY WEAR OR USE ANY COLOR YOU WANT. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL SOME TABOOS FOR USING COLORS IN ARRANGEMENTS. (EMIKO’S REMARKS IN RED)

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, WE CAN RECOMMEND “THE COLORS OF JAPAN”.

IN PRESENTING THE COLORS OF JAPAN TODAY WE ARE TRING TO SHOW YOU NOT JUST THE PREDOMINATE COLORS DISCUSSED IN OUR REFERENCES, BUT ALSO WANT TO SHOW YOU LOTS OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF JAPANESE CULTURE (TEXTILES, ART, CRAFTS). I’LL INTRODUCE EACH COLOR WITH A FEW REMARKS AND THEN THE REST OF OUR TEAM WILL DISCUSS ITEMS REPRESENTING THAT COLOR.

RED

Red in most cultures is a symbolic representation of blood and fire, passion and emotion. In Japan, as elsewhere, red is also the color of the sacred. Shrines and torii gates used red in the past centuries and they can be seen today throughout Japan. Japanese lacquer ware, red on the outside and black inside (there is opposite combination, too: red inside and black outside), was a symbol of authority or wealth. Red or vermilion (also called Chinese red—vivid red to reddish orange) lacquer was used for women’s combs and hair accessories, for sheaths for samurai swords, and for numerous interior decorations.

Imari ceramic ware, famous today throughout the world, first used red in the 17th century. Seals used to stamp documents use vermilion (or cinnabar) pigment. Textiles utilized red pigment dyes.

Emiko: Red Interior decorations of house reminds me the place for prostitution, too. In the houses of ordinary people, we hardly can find red decoration in Japan because red is an emotional and sexual color for us.

Red is a most sensitive color for us because it has a lot of meanings and its meaning has been changed throughout our long history.

Red is also the color of our national flag. We usually avoid wearing red clothes in formal situations because red is considered an aggressive color.

BLUE

Blue is a cool color, evoking quietude. It was never forbidden by government edict, regardless of shade or tone…while purple and red were prohibited as gaudy and extravagant. Good point! The yukata, an unlined cotton kimono for relaxing at home in the summer was typically blue and white, indicating freshness/coolness. Working clothes were made of indigo dyed cloth, the dye believed to ward off insects and poisonous snakes. Blue is the color of everyday life – ceramics, painting, noren, work clothes. Rice looks appetizing in a bowl with an indigo design against a white background. Blue signifies, in many cultures, the infinite, the mysterious, the supreme.

Emiko: The pronunciation of AO means blue in Japanese. (pronounced Ah O. no u sound with the O). Till my parents’ generation, Japanese people did not distinguish between green and blue, so Japanese people call both blue and green AO. We still use AO for expressing green; the green traffic light is called AO-Shingo in Japanese. Shingo means traffic light. AO means also young and immature when you are describing people.

BLACK AND WHITE

Visually speaking, black and white are opposite poles of darkness and light. White is relaxed, approachable; black is stiff and dignified.

White is the sacred color of gods and shows absence of impurity. The bride wears a white cloth draped over the front of her hair at the wedding ceremony. A white robe is worn by the dead. White does not have much use in ordinary secular life, but is rather used as a background for painted designs. White is used in architecture….i.e. white walls of traditional Japanese castles and Shoji screens. Emiko: White means honesty, too. Some people say that the white side of origami shows honesty.

Black signifies dignified and formal. In art, both in fine and decorative, black is considered a distinguished color. Black lacquer ware is used for formal occasions. Black lacquer ware has been made for years and continues to be popular today. Black ink used in the art of sumi-e is a good example of

the use of and the popularity of black. Scrolls and calligraphy use black ink ………….very striking pieces of Japanese art.

Emiko: Black and white together reminds Japanese people of a funeral. They have black and white striped cloths around a temple to designate that a funeral is taking place. (show photo looks blue but it is black). Japanese people wear black ties for funerals and white ties for wedding or celebratory events. Beverly’s Haori has family marks (crests) and they are only done in white. Formal one. (Man’s haori: inside is very beautiful…show).

In flower arranging, white mums (only white) would be a funeral arrangement. An arrangement using only white mums should be avoided. OK to do an arrangement in a black container with white mums as long as other flowers (yellow would be good) are combined with the white mums. White mums alone would evoke a feeling of “very sad”.

Mums are depicted on the crest for the emperor’s family. As such they have special meanings to the Japanese people.

GOLD & SILVER

Gold in Japan is used in Buddhist art. In the 16th century, rulers used gold to show their authority. It spread to theatre costumes, kimonos and obi worn by ladies of affluent families and eventually to the sumptuous robes of high-ranking courtesans in the pleasure quarters. Good. I will add this; one great Samurai made Golden tea room in 17th century in Osaka. However gold represents newly rich, too.

The Rimpa School artists (early 1600’s) used gold in painting, decorative arts, textiles and calligraphy. Silver takes a subsidiary role in Japanese culture, always in a supplementary role to gold. Gold and silver were mostly employed for special or non-practical purposes, such as Buddhist art, interior design and decorative arts. Tarnished silver (color) is preferable to bright (polished) silver for Japanese people.

GREEN

Green is now distinguished from blue in Japanese speech and thought. Green is a relatively new concept as in the past they did not distinguish between green and blue. Ao is still used to mean both green and also to mean blue in the Japanese language. As the color of vegetation, green is viewed as the symbol of life, rebirth, youth, and freshness. Evergreen trees and plants serve as symbols of imperishability and long life, and their color is viewed as sacred. Pine, one of the most important trees of Japan, is used in New Year’s decorations and in all aspects of the arts from screens and lacquerware to porcelain and fabrics. Before chemical dyes there was no vegetable dye in Japan that yielded green, so a process of over dying yellow with indigo produced a yellow-green. With mineral dyes, the color produced is a bluish-green, as evidenced in Kokutani ware and Japanese style painting.

BROWN

Brown is basically the color of the Earth – rocks, soil, sand, tree bark, and animal fur. It wasn’t until

drinking tea became widespread in the Edo Period (1600-1867) that the word chairo (“tea color”) came into use. The traditional tea house is an excellent example of the Japanese appreciation of nature – untreated wooden surfaces, clay walls, and tatami mats. Traditional construction used bamboo, paper, lumber, clay. The preferred color for the water container used in the tea ceremony is a dark brown chocolate color. The container represents earth. In the mid-seventeenth century people began using tea to dye clothing, and the color produced became a symbol of the common people. Persimmon juice is used as a dye for kimono stencils, as well as clothing, to this day. Haniwa is an unglazed, stylized type of pottery first used in the fourth century.

PURPLE

Purple (murasaki in Japanese), covers the full spectrum of mixtures of red and blue, and is considered the color of privilege. Buddhist sutras were written in gold on purple paper as early as the eighth century. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the color was a symbol of the court and aristocracy. For a long time in the past only the royal family was associated with purple…..the common man could not use purple for decoration, clothing etc. The Emperor’s family was and is considered to be ancestors of the Shinto god Amterasuoomikami (the original religion of Japan was Shinto). Many of the flowers we most associate with Japan are purple –iris, hydrangea, wisteria, for example. The dye for purple comes from the murasaki-so root, and even today is considered a dignified color to use in ladies kimonos. As a sacred color it is used at Shinto shrines, in the robes of Buddhist priests, and in the costume of the head sumo referee. Most victory banners in Japan are purple. Sutra is a type of religious literature present in many Asian traditions such as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The word sutra is a Sanskrit term that means “discourse” (in the Pali language: sutta). Another meaning suggested for the word sutra is “threads”.

Program originally presented to Blue Ridge Chapter of Ikenobo Ikebana Society, February 2011 with a workshop where participants made free style arrangements that complemented or interpreted a piece of Japanese art, fabric, etc. that they brought. Program commentary by Beverly Barbour with comments by Emiko Suzuki (in red). Beverly and Laura presented Ikenobo free style arrangements as well. Items to be shown furnished by Laura Felt, Beverly Barbour and Emiko Suzuki.

THE COLORS OF JAPAN: ITEMS OF EACH COLOR IN PROGRAM

RED: 1. piece of Imari—Iro-e. polychrome over glaze-red predominates—large Imari bowl. 2. red carved lacquer plate 3. red and black lacquer ware 4. red obi-ceremonial gift in original box 5. pair of red lacquer candlesticks

6 red and black obi 7. red undergarment for wedding kimono 8. pillow- red made from a kimono (Peggy) 9. red with white chrysanthemums kimono that would have been worn by a teenager. (Peggy) 10. Emperor and Empress doll (red and blue represented) 11. sake container (Peggy)

BLUE: 1. short obi placed on short kimono stand 2. Imari –large plate on stand. (Imari first produced in early 17th century—but in general use in everyday life within the past 100 years or so. 3. Hokusai’s Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji—45 woodblock prints-outstanding example of “indigo printing” (aizuri) (Beverly: bring one of these. Large. Framed). 4. Sashiko with different patterns 5. painting of Iris: Mary Takahashi (Beverly) 6. blue and white yukata 7. indigo dyed wall hanging (Peggy)

BLACK & WHITE: 1. wedding kimono on kimono stand 2. black lacquerware—covered dish 2. sumie painting (Beverly bring 1) 3. black ink painting: (Beverly bring painting of Daffodils by Mary Takahashi) 4. black roof tile 5. black container with design (shape of bamboo with leaves in gold and silver) 6. Beverly’s Kimono Jacket 7. white obi 8. black obi

9. Kokeshi doll (wooden and looks like a painting brush)

GOLD & SILVER: 1. bifold screen with designs in gold & silver 2. gold Ikenobo container, which can be used for Free Style; for Shoka Shofutai and Shoka Shimputai. Made of resin (from Emiko’s) 3. crane—Tsuru 4. obi with gold and silver 5. temari ball with black background with gold, silver and red (Beverly will bring) 6. metal sculpture of a little boy (Peggy) 7. Ikenobo container (silver) (Emiko) 8. silver hashioki (chopstick rests)

GREEN : 1. obi (2) bright true green; dark green with scenes 2. green lacquer ware (unusual) bowl with lid along with 2nd green bowl 3. small tatami mat with green binding 4. green free style container (bucket) (used by Stephanie at NARC) 5. long green kimono & short shibori kimono 6. 4 pages of photos from “Japan Color” book-one is a roof with moss; one a beautiful bonsai; one a bamboo grove of green bamboo stalks on one page and a moss garden on the other; and the last is a tea bowl with green tea. Beverly 7. exquisite green nesting bowls Japanese celadon (Peggy) 8. Toshi Yoshida woodblock print- waterfall suiseki (viewing stone) with pine, bamboo, and flowers in a bonsai clinging to rock style (Peggy)

BROWN: 1. persimmon-dyed kimono stencil (framed) 2. bamboo mat

3. basket 4. brown obi with pinecones & another obi 5. samples of Tokoname bonsai pots (unglazed) brown-2 pieces (Peggy) 6. decorative Sakura raised relief piece from the Mashiko kiln (Peggy) 6. hearth hook -carved fish- teapot hangs from this (Peggy) 7. collapsible book stand

PURPLE:

1. piece of washi paper depicting the traditional tied (Terri Todd) Ribbons mounted on foam board 2. washi paper(s) 3. purple obi with fans 4. purple obi with maple leaves 5. obi shime (narrow tie) 6. brush painting of bamboo. Shodo. using purple sumi. (Peggy) 7. obi (narrow) with silver cranes (Peggy) 8. furoshiki in ombre, purple on top fading to white (Peggy) 9. a sign for mocha 10.the rabbit & moon tenugui