瑠 means 'lapis lazuli'

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.