Japanese Blue and Green #1 明, 暗, 顕, 漠

Question 1: What is this?
Question 2: What color is this?

So, I researched the background of this unique Japanese usage of 'Ao' (青), and I'd like to share what I found.

During my research, I discovered many fascinating related topics. Over the next few posts, I'll explore how the Japanese perception of colors has evolved, weaving in these interesting side stories along the way.

◆ 明(mei), 暗(an), 顕(ken), 漠(baku)

According to a widely accepted theory, ancient Japanese people didn't have specific words for colors. Instead, they expressed colors through four different perceptions of sunlight: 'light,' 'dark,' 'clear,' and 'vague.' These four perceptions eventually evolved into distinct colors:

Light (明): The state of the sky taking on color at dawn → Dawn(明け=a-ke)/Clear(明らか=aki-raka): Aka (red)
Dark (暗): The state of darkness after sunset → Dark(暗い=kura-i)/Dusk(暮れる=ku-reru): Kuro (black)
Clear (顕): The state when things become clearly visible after dawn → Distinct (著しい=shiru-shii): Shiro (white)
Vague (漠): The state at dusk when surrounding scenery becomes hazy and ambiguous → Ao (blue)

While there are various theories about the origins of these readings, these four colors are unique in Japanese as they're the only ones that can still form adjectives by adding 'shi' or 'i' at the end. Some expressions like 'Aka no tanin' (complete stranger, literally 'red stranger') or 'Shirajirashii' (blatant/obvious) seem to retain traces of their original meanings.

Naturally, the connection between 'vague' (漠) and 'Ao' is intriguing, though it's quite challenging to link the explanation of 'the hazy, ambiguous state of scenery at dusk' to the color blue.

However, many sources suggest that "for ancient Japanese people, everything that wasn't red, black, or white was considered Ao" or that "all cool colors were considered Ao." Similarly, yellow and orange were initially grouped under red, encompassing all warm colors.

While no one seems to question that 'vague' (漠) evolved into 'Ao,' the process remains a complete mystery. As for the etymology of 'Ao,' various theories exist - from it deriving from 'Ai' (indigo), 'awashi' (pale), or 'ou' (to grow) - but none seems definitive.

With so many uncertainties, it's natural that there are various interpretations of what was originally considered 'Ao.'

The Evolution of '漠' into 'Ao'

Let's consider what the original 'Ao' might have been.

According to a prominent theory, there were two pairs of concepts unrelated to hue (color tone), representing contrasts in 'light/dark' and 'clear/vague':
 (1) Light: 明 ー Dark: 暗
 (2) Clear: 顕 ー Hazy: 漠
Interestingly, it's said that 'Ao' eventually came to include the intermediary color between black and white (that is, gray).

However, it's quite difficult to imagine how red and blue emerged from these concepts that were supposedly unrelated to hue.

First, if (1) represents a contrast in brightness (that is, value), it would seem natural for '明' and '暗' to become white and black, but instead they became red and black.

As for (2), while it could be interpreted as a contrast in saturation, the evolution of ['漠' into 'Ao'] doesn't quite fit this explanation.

Let's try to organize this using a diagram. I've tentatively mapped the regions of '明', '暗', '顕', and '漠' on a value/saturation chart. Since these concepts were unrelated to hue, we can imagine this pattern applying to any color, whether red or green.

I've designated the area near the vertical axis as the '漠' region, interpreting 'haziness' as 'moderately bright but with low saturation.' Then, I placed '顕' in the area of extremely high value but low saturation, and '暗' in the area where both value and saturation are low.

顕: Extremely bright but difficult to see clearly
暗: Too dark to see
漠: Other areas where things are 'difficult to see'
As for '明', since we have no clear clues, I've marked a reasonable area where things should be clearly visible.

This arrangement helps explain why 'Ao' came to include gray. Indeed, colors in this '漠' region are often described as 'grayish.'

However, this model still doesn't explain the emergence of red. Having '明' appear in the green diagram is problematic.

So, what if we consider a more convenient hypothesis: that '明' didn't exist initially, and the concept of hue only emerged when '明' was established? While this is speculative, imagine that first, three categories - '顕', '漠', and '暗' - emerged independently of hue. Later, all warm colors became associated with '明,' while cool colors were integrated into '漠'. This scenario seems to work quite well.

That is to say, this is a convenient interpretation where only '明' was used as a color name from the beginning.
Since '明' represents "the state of the sky taking on color at dawn," it wouldn't be strange if it was conscious of sky color from the beginning.


Speculation aside, '漠' eventually evolved into 'Ao', resulting in
Ao = all cool colors + grayish colors


And from there, 'Ao' gradually narrowed in scope over a long period of time.

◆ A concrete image of the Early '漠'

The kanji for 漠 is "sanzui" and "莫".
   "Sanzui": Blue water
   "莫": The gloomy state of the sun setting over the grass
Some people have linked this type of analysis to the color "blue."

When I think of the early image of '漠', I think of dusk, the surrounding scenery is blurred and unclear, the sun is setting over the grass, and it is dark...




Is it something like this?
I've also included an image in which the sky appears blue, but if taken literally it might be closer to the latter two.

It seems that initially, '漠' simply referred to the dim light that made it difficult to see.
It might have been something like, "It's already '漠', so I'll call it a day."

By extension, it came to refer to scenes and landscapes when it got dark, and it is likely that all cool colors became 'Ao' because the feeling of that cold, lonely scene was called 'Ao.'

Summary

We found that the initial color perception of Japanese people was very different from today, but there are still many unknowns about the transition from '漠' to 'Ao', and further research is needed.

For now, the desert looks like this:

The first 'Ao' was "all cool colors + grayish colors"


Next time, the color names will finally appear.
We will explore the meaning and scope of use of 'Ao' through specific examples of its use after it has been recognized as a color.