Lecture 34: "Traditional Cultural Color Symbolism"
Japan
Japan like any other traditional society has preference of colors associated with auspicious event or rituals. Interestingly most of the traditional colors are related to natural environment. Red and White are auspicious colors (good luck). You will find the two colors used for many special occasions, such as weddings, and births. Since tassels are used to decorate things of celebration, red and white are the colors you will find (unless it is black and white, or all black for a funeral). There is an observance in Japan that you may find amusing - you are in a train station and see a couple. Modern day it is common for men and women to wear black suit. However, the only way to tell is if the woman's obituary is colorful or solid black, and the man's tie is white or black. Colorful/white is for a wedding, black/black is for the funeral
Blue and White are also prominent colors in Japanese fabrics and dishware. Yukata is a blue and white cotton fabric used to make summer kimonos called "yukata". It is also used for the "temari-like" patterns found throughout their dishware. Japan has rich traditional of art and crafts design. Following are examples (plates 6) of such works
