02

Bundle 2: I’ve Got the Blues

A deep dive into dyeing gives you the blues in the best of ways, also illuminating the clothing of commoners versus that of the elites and priests. Speaking of priests, three of the essays connect to Buddhism. More unexpectedly, sea creatures, achievement medals, the colors of the rainbow, birds, gems, and vegetables all prove to be common ground. See which color the Japanese associate with uniforms and which one they think of when seeing soy sauce and cigarette smoke.
To view Joy o' Kanji essays, you must be logged in to Kanshudo. Please LOG IN (or REGISTER).
紺
navy blue
JOK: 1279
Discover how dark blue connects to the police and navy. Find out why a term for “dyer” includes 紺, what it means for dyers to “wear white,” and where Dyers Alley is. Learn about great kinds of blue kasuri, find out how horned blue demons differ from other types, see what you get when eggplant mixes with dark blue, and learn the origins of “Prussian blue” and “ultramarine.”
紫
purple
JOK: 1320
Purple (紫) has special meaning in Japan. An old name for one of the four major islands contains 紫. The 'Tale of Genji' author chose an alias that included 紫. Kyoto and Edo each had a shade of purple named after them, thanks to a purple plant dye. Purple is associated with various types of elites in Japan. And some Japanese perceive soy sauce and tobacco smoke as purple!
藍
indigo
JOK: 2130
Indigo became important in Japan partly because commoners couldn’t wear silk and instead chose cotton. Farmers’ indigo work togs shaped the creative inclinations of a contemporary dyer who loves to wrestle with indigo’s “persona.” A term for “temple” is inside a word for “pelican,” just as “cabbage” lies inside “kale” and “brussels sprouts.” The essay unravels all of these mysteries.
瑠
lapis lazuli
JOK: 2135
Find out why {search[瑠璃](るり)} can represent glass, as well as the mineral lapis lazuli and the bright blue color of that stone. Using {search瑠璃} people convey the blueness of everything from our planet as seen from space to the hue of flowers, birds, butterflies, and one kind of cockroach! Lapis is even the color of courage! Also learn about the performing art known as joruri, and see how it relates to puppet theater.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×