However, most Japanese think that the sun is red. Children usually draw the sun as a big red circle. The Japanese national flag kokki has a red circle on a white background. It consisted of a bed of white rice with a red pickled plum umeboshi in the center. It was promoted as a simple, staple meal during the World Wars, a time that was hard to get a variety of foods. The name came from the meal's appearance that closely resembled the "hinomaru. The combination of red and white kouhaku is a symbol for auspicious or happy occasions.
Long curtains with red and white stripes are hung in wedding receptions. Red and white "mizuhiki ceremonial paper strings " are used as gift wrapping ornaments for weddings and other auspicious occasions. On the other hand, black kuro and white shiro are used for sad occasions. They are the usual colors of mourning. The red color of the rice makes for a festive mood.
The color is from red beans cooked with rice. With Fuji meaning wisteria flowers in Japanese, the color purple became a synonym for the ruling class again. During the Edo period , the ruling family was Tokugawa. However, purple became fashionable during the Edo period. Common people were forbidden to wear vivid colors, so the outside of their outfit would often be brown, but they would bend the rule by using colorful linings.
At the time, kabuki actors were fashion leaders. Danjuro Ichikawa, a superstar of the time, wore a purple headband in the best selling play the Flower of Edo , and the color became highly fashionable among Edo citizens.
The history of red in Japan traces back to ancient times. In the old graveyards for those in power called kofun , pictures are painted with an Indian red made of iron oxide. This red was meant to protect the body of the man in power from evil. The red that is common in Japan is the one on the Shinto shrine gates called torii. This particular red is called akani. Each shrine uses a slightly different red, but akani protects against rust because of the cinnabar mercury in it, and is meant as a protection from evil and disaster.
The red is also believed to increase the power of the kami the spirits worshipped in the Shinto religion. During the Japanese civil wars , red was loved by the samurai and worn as a symbol of strength and power in battle. Red was also used as makeup in Japan long before lipstick became popular. Noble women would use safflowers as a base for their lipsticks. Black is a powerful and foreboding color in Japanese culture.
Traditionally, black has represented death, destruction, doom, fear and sorrow. Especially when used alone, black represents mourning and misfortune, and is often worn to funerals. Black has also traditionally been a color of formality, and has increasingly come to represent elegance, with the growing popularity of Western conceptions of black tie events.
While the strict color Rank System with colors based on a merit level in society are no longer in place, traditional Japanese colors still hold an important position in Japanese culture. White has been an auspicious color in Japan for much of its history. White represents purity and cleanliness in traditional Japanese society, and is seen as a blessed color. Because of the sacred nature of the color, white is the color of weddings and other joyful life events, and appears on the Japanese flag.
In Japanese art, predominate colors have varied through the centuries but the simplicity of black and white are a common thread. Another custom you should remember when attending a Japanese wedding is that you do not give an amount of money starts with an even number. People usually put 5, yen, 10, yen, or 30, yen, which are all odd numbers the first digit , into the gift money envelope Shugi-bukuro.
But you probably will not want to be caught in embarrassment because of the wrong colours and numbers. See author's posts. Search for:. Home Travel Avoid cultural taboos!
Symbolism of colours and numbers in Japan. Gorilla Sally.
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