Japanese Blue and Green ＃12 Taika Reforms

Japanese Blue and Green #12

Last time, I examined the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System. This time, we'll look at what happened to the cap rank system afterwards.

◆ 七色十三階冠: The Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown

According to the Nihon Shoki, "七色十三階冠"(Nanashiki Jūsankaikan: the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system), which was like an upgraded version of the Twelve-Level Cap Rank system, was established in 647 and implemented in 648.

Although there was only about a 45-year difference from the Twelve-Level Cap Rank system, the "乙巳の変"(Isshi Incident) occurred two years before the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system was established. In other words, this revision of the cap ranks was part of the "大化の改新"(Taika Reforms) itself.

Here, specific color names finally appear, which must have influenced the color predictions for the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System as well. "紫"(Murasaki: purple), "真緋"(Ake: true scarlet), "紺"(Kon: navy blue), and "緑"(Midori: green) make their first appearance in literature.

The Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system expresses rank through combinations of crown materials, borders, decorative elements, and clothing colors. Below, I have organized the crown materials and clothing colors.

The terms 織・繡・紫・錦・青・黒 are read as "Shiki (Orimono)," "Shū (Nuimono)," "Shi (Murasaki)," "Kin (Nishiki)," "Shō (Ao)," and "Koku (Kuro)" respectively.

Overall, it seems to have moved away from the Five Elements theory.



About Purple

For ranks 1 and 2, 大織(Dai Shiki) and 小織(Shō Shiki), and ranks 3 and 4, 大繡(Dai Shū ) and 小繡(Shō Shū ), there are only descriptions of the materials, but since the clothing was deep purple, the crowns were likely also in the purple family. Since there is a description that crowns for ranks 5 and 6 were purple, I believe that ranks 1-4 used deep purple. Alternatively, the shade of purple might have become deeper as one moved up in rank.

This strongly supports the theory that "the highest rank in the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System was purple." In fact, this might be the most decisive evidence. There's also an account that in the Twelve-Level Cap Rank system, Soga no Emishi arbitrarily granted a purple crown (murasaki no kouburi) to Iruka, his son. Additionally, since purple was considered a noble color in China following Emperor Wu of Han's preference for it, it's reasonable to conclude that "the highest rank was purple."



About "錦"(Nishiki) and "真緋"(Ake)

"錦"(Nishiki) refers to luxurious fabrics woven with various colored threads to create intricate patterns (what we call brocade in English). The "大伯仙錦"(Dai-haku-sen brocade) mentioned in the table likely had a pattern called "大伯仙"(Big hakusen), though it's unclear exactly what this looked like. 

While there's no mention of its color, it would be natural to assume it was in the same red family as the clothing. Among "錦"(Nishiki) in Shosoin Treasure, there was an item as follows:

(Source: Shosoin Treasure)

While the pattern is unclear, it is highly likely that the fabric of this crown had these kinds of colors.

However, there is also a possibility it could have been brown, yellow, or gold. In ancient times, all these colors were categorized as "Aka" (red), so yellow and brown might have been considered part of the same color family as the clothing. In China, yellow was considered a noble color alongside purple, so it would make an interesting story to place yellow one rank below purple.

For example, brocade like the one in the image above would have been recognized as "黄"(yellow) in China.

Additionally, in the Sui dynasty, a color called "柘黄"(Shaō : zhe yellow) was used for court attire, and it's said that crowns were also this color, so there's a possibility that this practice was adopted.

"真緋"(Ake: true scarlet) used in the clothing is a traditional Japanese red. From the Heian period onward, it came to be called "緋色"(Hi-iro). Among madder-dyed colors, Hi-iro is the most vivid yellowish red.

Both colors have a yellowish tint and seem to complement each other well. The combination of scarlet clothing with a zhe yellow crown appears to be an excellent pairing, don't you think? It's certainly better than making both items Hi-iro.



About Blue and Green

Let's turn our attention to the blue family. These are ranks 9-12 in the table. We see 青絹(Ao-kinu: blue silk), 紺(Kon: navy blue), and 緑(Midori: green).

The material described as "青絹"(blue silk) was most likely dyed with indigo. This color later came to be called "縹色"(Hanada-iro), which is a color dyed purely with indigo and is the origin of what we now call blue.

Additionally, "紺"(Kon) is also called "深き縹"(fukai hanada: deep hanada), which is the darkest color of indigo dyeing. Indigo dye components contain red dyes, and when deeply dyed, these red elements emerge to create 紺(Kon).

Strangely enough, the original "藍色"(Ai-iro: indigo color) was not a color dyed with indigo alone, but rather a color created by mixing pure indigo dye with a yellow dye called "黄蘗"(Kihada). Kihada is a deciduous tall tree in the citrus family that contains yellow components in the inner bark.

At that time, this 藍色(Ai-iro) and 緑(Midori) dye might have come into use simultaneously. Though it's purely speculation, I think this indigo color was a byproduct that happened to emerge during the process of creating green.

Green is not a color that can be produced with a single dye, so it always requires mixing a blue-based dye with yellow.

Regarding 緑(Midori: green), there seem to be no hints until descriptions from the Heian period, but it appears that such dyes were developed at an early stage. If the recipe hadn't been perfected, they wouldn't have established a rule requiring "wearing green clothing." And as 縹(Hanada) gets closer to 紺(Kon), it becomes the historical 藍色(Ai-iro) depending on the proportion of yellow, which means this color must have emerged during the process of adjusting the green hue. However, nowadays the entire spectrum of indigo-dyed colors is called 藍色(Ai-iro), and it seems that colors with less yellow tint are more readily recognized as 藍色(Ai-iro).

In any case, in the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system, blue and green are completely distinguished from each other. Given this, it might be natural not to doubt that the blue in the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System was actually blue. However, the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system features distinctively Japanese color usage that departs from the Five Elements theory, so it's entirely possible that "crowns that were green in the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System were changed to blue in the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system." I still believe the "青" in the prevailing theory of the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System should be interpreted as green.

◆ 冠十九階: The Nineteen-Tier Crown System

七色十三階冠(the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system) was implemented in April 648, but in the following year, 649, it was replaced by a further revised version called 冠十九階(Kan jūkyūkai: the Nineteen-Tier Crown System). This was also part of the Taika Reform content.

The Nihon Shoki does not mention the color names of the Nineteen-Tier Crown system. Instead, a document called 有職図譜(Yūsoku Zufu) contained a list of crowns from this period. It includes illustrations of the crowns and the color names of the clothing. While the production date of this document is officially listed as unknown, judging from its content, it appears to be from either the Muromachi or Edo period.

The Nineteen-Tier Crown System simply added six more ranks by further dividing the three ranks of "錦(Kin), 青(Shō ), and 黒(Koku)," so it also provides clues when considering the colors of the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier Crown system.

Its credibility is unknown, but the illustrations are colorful and fun, so I'll introduce some excerpts here.

大織 Dai Shiki	小織 Shō Shiki	小繡 Shō Shū	大華上 Dai Ke jō
大山上 Dai Sen jō	大乙下 Dai Otsu Ge	小乙下 Shō Otsu Ge	立身 Ryūshin

The crown rank 大山上(Dai Sen jō ) is an evolved form of 大青(Dai Shō ), but the blue of the crown has changed to green. The clothing has also changed to deep green. In the end, all crowns that were originally blue silk became green.

Moreover, these green crowns are ranked above the "Hanada" blue crowns. Is this because green is created by adding yellow to indigo dye? Given that green requires more effort to produce, perhaps it's natural that it would come above "Hanada" in the ranking. Valuing blended colors more highly than the color of a single material is distinctly Japanese.

Notably, the term "青"(Ao) is not used in the descriptions of the Nineteen-Tier Crown system. Indeed, since "青" is ambiguous, using "縹"(Hanada) and "緑"(Midori: green) is more reassuring as it provides clearer distinctions.



藤原鎌足(Fujiwara no Kamatari)

Regarding the "大織(Dai Shiki)" rank in the Nineteen-Tier Crown system, there was a significant announcement in 2024.

In 1934, during excavation work for Kyoto University's Earthquake Observatory in Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture, an ancient burial mound was discovered. Many decorative items and human bones were found at this site, which was named the Abuyama Kofun. After it was suggested that it might be an imperial tomb, it was reportedly reburied 111 days after its discovery. However, in 1982, the existence of X-ray photographs of the buried person was revealed, and Kyoto University conducted image analysis on them.

Initially, based on the conditions at the time of discovery and the results of image analysis, the following was known:
● The person had fractured their spine, spent several months paralyzed from the waist down, and then died.
● They had tennis elbow in their left arm and had been taking arsenic. → "Skilled in archery"
● They were buried wearing a crown with gold thread embroidery.

In recent years, further analysis was conducted, revealing that the fabric of this crown was made using a special weaving technique called 綴織(tsuzure-ori). In 2024, it was reported that this buried person is highly likely to be Fujiwara no Kamatari, who died in 669.

◆ Only 大織(Dai Shiki) and 小織(Shō Shiki) had crowns made of woven fabric.
◆ Just before his death, Nakatomi no Kamatari was granted the surname Fujiwara and the 大織冠(Taishokkan) by Emperor Tenji.
◆ There are only two recorded instances of someone being granted the 織冠 (Orimono no kouburi: woven crowns), with the other recipient being a person from Baekje.
◆ Fujiwara no Kamatari had fallen from horseback while hunting and had severely injured his back in the year of his death.
◆ He was also a master archer and a person of sufficient status to be buried in a kofun.

With all these pieces of evidence aligned, there can be no doubt. The accuracy of the Nihon Shoki is truly impressive. Regarding this matter, there seems to be neither falsehood nor exaggeration.

The image below is a reconstructed 大織冠(Taishokkan: crown of "Dai Shiki") that was released during the latest announcement.


(Image: Mainichi Shimbun)

While the pattern of the gold thread portion is not entirely clear, it seems that the flower embroidery and border patterns have been precisely reconstructed. Since 織冠(woven crowns) were only bestowed twice in history, the previous illustration of the crown of "大織(Dai Shiki)" must have needed to depict this.

Though it must have been drawn based on imagination, the actual appearance seems quite different. It doesn't appear that the fabric had colorful patterns. However, there's a possibility that flower petals and other decorations were scattered throughout. While not mentioned at all in the Nihon Shoki, perhaps the floral decorations were left to individual discretion.

Summary

The character "青" only appeared in the names of two crown ranks in the Seven-Colored Thirteen-Tier system, "大青(Dai Shō )" and "小青(Shō Shō )," and in "青絹"(Ao-kinu: blue silk), the material used for them. Judging from the illustrations of the Nineteen-Tier Crown system, these were likely "Hanada" blue. I felt there's a high possibility that "緑"(Midori: green) was completely distinguished from blue and properly used as a color name.

However, terms like "青絹と緑絹"(=blue silk and green silk) did not appear. Similarly, there were no contrasting expressions like "green clothes and blue clothes." Perhaps due to an environment where mistakes were not permitted, ultimately, "青"(Ao) was likely a color category name rather than a specific color name. I felt that the concept of differentiating "blue and green" didn't yet exist.