Colors in Japan

The blog discusses the complexities of color terminology in Japanese, particularly focusing on the flower card game hanafuda and its tanzaku cards. It highlights three types of tanzaku: red, blue, and plain, noting that the blue tanzaku appears more purple than blue. The author reflects on the Japanese use of the word 青 (ao) to describe not only blue but also green, which contrasts with Western color definitions. The blog mentions that traditional Japanese color terms were broader, with 赤 (aka) encompassing warm colors and 青 (ao) covering cool colors, leading to a perception where leaves and bamboo could be considered blue.

The author also explores the evolution of color vocabulary in Japanese, introducing terms like 橙色 (daidai-iro, orange) and 緑 (midori, green), and discusses the necessity of the 色 (iro, color) suffix for clarity in some cases. The blog notes that while some colors have direct translations, others, like pink, are better represented by native terms such as 桃色 (momo-iro, peach color). The author concludes by emphasizing how language and culture shape our understanding of color, illustrating the differences in color perception across languages.