question about japanese art and colors

fluff · (#1 (**permalink**))

hello ^^

can anyone tell me please what colors are "forbidden" in Japanese art/culture ??
I mean like white that symbolize death ( I've heard today that purple got the same effect...but I thought it's only in Thailand).
so what are the colors that you don't see naturally in Japanese art??

ryuurui · (#2 (**permalink**))

Only those without proper and valid visa

File0 · (#3 (**permalink**))

Yeah, forbidden is not a good word here, not even in quotes!

What do colors symbolize in Japanese culture/art? - that would be a better question.

Columbine · (#4 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by fluff

hello ^^

can anyone tell me please what colors are "forbidden" in Japanese art/culture ??
I mean like white that symbolize death ( I've heard today that purple got the same effect...but I thought it's only in Thailand).
so what are the colors that you don't see naturally in Japanese art??

Certain colours may infer some meaning, but there's no real 'banned' colours. You can give someone a white item as a gift and they're not going to freak out. Even if 'white' is traditionally associated with death in asia, most people wear black or muted to funerals nowadays anyway. There are some styles where the colours used are fairly particular; especially with kimono where colour combinations have names and seasons and meanings etc, but that's fairly specialist knowledge; the average man on the street isn't going to know it by heart.

Ukiyoe also traditionally uses fairly limited colours per painting as they were designed to be mass produced. The Great Wave painting consists of barely 5 tones.

ryuurui · (#5 (**permalink**))

wedding kimono are white - a symbol of your dying single life, eureka!

fluff · (#6 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Columbine

Certain colours may infer some meaning, but there's no real 'banned' colours. You can give someone a white item as a gift and they're not going to freak out. Even if 'white' is traditionally associated with death in asia, most people wear black or muted to funerals nowadays anyway. There are some styles where the colours used are fairly particular; especially with kimono where colour combinations have names and seasons and meanings etc, but that's fairly specialist knowledge; the average man on the street isn't going to know it by heart.

Ukiyoe also traditionally uses fairly limited colours per painting as they were designed to be mass produced. The Great Wave painting consists of barely 5 tones.

thank you for your answer

steven · (#7 (**permalink**))

Well I know that there is certainly a difference in the meanings of colors compared to America (which I suppose would be extremely related to Europe).

I'm quite interested in this myself to be honest.

I know that in Tea Ceremonies guys will usually have a "cool" handkerchief (like purple or green) and women will usually have a "warm" colored one (orange or red). I don't know the meaning of this though.

I wonder how much of the color stuff was imported through China and how much was imported from the west as far as Japan is concerned. I know that in China yellow was like the best color (according to my fashion class that I took to graduate college

).

I think it's interesting to look at how cultures as well as humans (physiologically/physcologically) perceive colors.

I think this is something that marketers are extremely interested in, that's for sure! You might check out some marketing in Japan information if you can find it.

ryuurui · (#8 (**permalink**))

looking at tokyo's fashion disaster i realy doubt that nowadays any colors are not being in use, together separately or in any other nightmare-ish way...

dogsbody70 · (#9 (**permalink**))

these are so colourful-- I love them.

variety is the spice of life.

ryuurui · (#10 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

variety is the spice of life.

Though at times it can be an ingredient of kitsch.