Japanese Blue and Green #17 _ "Midori" (Part2)

Japanese Blue and Green #17

In my previous article, I introduced the colors associated with Sei Shōnagon and Izumi Shikibu. This time I'll focus on Murasaki Shikibu. While I've covered court ranks extensively in past articles, from the Heian period onward I focus on the colors of upper garments called "袍 (hou)" that were designated according to court rank. This "位袍 (ihou)" system is an important clue for considering color perception.

◆Midori in The Tale of Genji

"源氏物語" (Genji Monogatari: The Tale of Genji) is a lengthy novel written by Murasaki Shikibu during the mid-Heian period and is considered the pinnacle of Japanese classical literature. Its delicate psychological portrayals and beautiful prose continue to be beloved by many people even now, over a thousand years later.

In Chapter 32, 'Umegae' (The Plum Tree Branch), we find the expression 'After the flowers had passed their prime, in the 浅緑(Asa-midori) sky, so serene and bright.' This is a scene where the protagonist Hikaru Genji takes up his brush to write to his heart's content while letting his thoughts wander over old poems and such. Since the flowers have passed their peak, I believe this refers to the tranquil sky of late March or early April.

"Asa-midori" looks like these.

How does this look? Could this be the color of the sky? It has a nice feel to it, but I don't think there's actually a sky of this color in reality.

However, "Asa-midori" appears earlier in The Tale of Genji.

In Chapter 21, "Otome" (The Maiden), Hikaru Genji grants his son Yūgiri the rank of 6th court rank. Since Genji holds the highest position, it would be reasonable to give his child 4th or 5th rank (with red-colored hou), but he deliberately chooses to be strict.

Later, Yūgiri falls in love with Kumoi-no-kari, the daughter of the Minister of the Interior, but they are separated due to their difference in status. Kumoi-no-kari's wet nurse takes pity on them and arranges for the two to meet, but there Yūgiri overhears the nurse's disparaging remarks: 'Even if he's from a distinguished family, someone of mere 6th rank...' Upon hearing this, he composes the poem:

くれなゐの　涙に深き　袖の色を　あさみどりにや　言ひしをるべき
(Kurenai-no namida-ni-fukaki sode-no-iro-wo asamidori-ni-ya iishiorubeki)

This is a poem of lament: 'Should the color of my sleeves, dyed deep crimson from weeping tears of blood in love, be disparaged as the mere pale green of 6th rank?'

In other words, while the color of the sleeves at this time is described as "Asamidori," the hou for 6th rank are designated as 深緑(Fuka-midori). The recipe for "Fuka-midori" is indigo with "Kariyasu." The amount of indigo is the same as for navy blue, creating an atmosphere quite different from "Asa-midori."

It might be possible up to about this shade, but even so the impression is quite different. It's indeed impossible to equate "Fuka-midori" and "Asa-midori."

Furthermore, the color of Yūgiri's clothing is also described as 浅葱(Asagi) and as "Midori (green) sleeves," which is somewhat inconsistent. The color "Asagi-iro" is also based on indigo dyeing, but it's considered to be this kind of color. It derives from the color of 葱(scallion) leaves.

"Asagi-iro" is described in late Heian period literature as "light lapis lazuli color," and is fundamentally completely different from "Asa-midori" or "Fuka-midori." Looking at other descriptions as well, this color is closer to "Hanada" if anything. It's confusing, but this would indeed be the color of the sky.

This is something that can easily cause misunderstanding, but the ceremonial attire that Prince Hisahito of Akishino wore at his coming-of-age ceremony was "Asagi-iro (浅黄色)," which is a light yellow color. Since the reading is the same, there apparently were times when these were actually confused with each other.

Here, let me organize the actual historical changes in ihou.

First, the era when The Tale of Genji was written corresponds to B or C. "浅緑 (Asa-midori)" had already disappeared from the ihou system. In other words, since the story's temporal setting goes back to an earlier period, Murasaki Shikibu must have researched the ihou of the past. However, even if she had adopted A, 6th rank would still be "深緑 (Fuka-midori)." There was never an era when 6th-rank hou were "Asa-midori." While this seems strange, it's likely that this wasn't due to inadequate research, but was done intentionally.

This is because Yūgiri later gets promoted to 3rd rank and composes the poem:

あさみどり　わか葉の菊を　つゆにても　こき紫の　色とかけきや
(Asa-midori wakaba-no-kiku-wo tsuyu-nite-mo koki-murasaki-no iro-to-kakeki-ya)

This means 'White chrysanthemums with "Asa-midori" leaves change from pure white flowers to deep purple over time,' conveying the sentiment: 'I never imagined I would one day wear the purple robes of 3rd rank, and was foolish to look down on it.' Chrysanthemum flowers can indeed change from white to purple when the temperature drops due to frost damage. This is called "移菊" (Utsuroi-giku: changing chrysanthemum).

Utsuroi-giku

The idea of 3rd rank being deep purple also only existed during period B, so the ihou settings in The Tale of Genji are completely original rules that never existed. Most likely, making the initial robes "Asa-midori" like young leaves was groundwork laid for having him compose this poem upon promotion. Since it's fiction, the institutional settings are free to be created. As long as the situation is properly conveyed, there's no problem at all.

At that time, ranks of 5th and above were considered nobility, so it's highly likely that everyone would have felt it was quite a low position simply because it was in the "Ao" (green/blue) family of colors. Moreover, the color system that represents hierarchy through color intensity would still have been understood by readers of this era, and the pale color may have emphasized his low status, most skillfully creating the effect of "poor Yūgiri."

However, one could consider the approach of following system A and making him 7th rank, but this would have been impossible for a son of the highest-ranking person. I think she prioritized realism here. While she could have made the chrysanthemum leaves in the poem "Fuka-midori" instead, I can understand her desire to use a pale color. Also, for composing the later poem, it had to be deep purple and this couldn't be changed, but promotion to 1st rank would also be impossible, and "中紫 (Naka-murasaki)" fits better than "深紫 (Fuka-murasaki)."

In the end, this unconventional approach of '6th rank Asa-midori' → '3rd rank Naka-murasaki' was the best option. This shows just how much she wanted to showcase that poem. The "utsuroi" (transition/change) is indeed beautiful.

This is truly an ingenious setup leading up to the 'white chrysanthemum poem,' but what was the reason for also describing these robes as "Asagi-iro"? Was the setting that there were several types of robes—some "Asa-midori" and some "Asagi-iro"? Or was it, as I proposed in the summary of my previous article, that 'if it's blue~green, the hue doesn't matter much'? Perhaps it really was an era when blue tones were judged only by brightness.

Also, in modern Japan, when brightness is high and saturation is low, it becomes "Asa-i (≒ pale)," and I think it was the same back then. In dyeing, this would mean something like "less dye" or "diluted dye concentration," so there may have been an impression that "lower-ranking colors are shallow and cheap."



"Asa-midori sky" would be this kind of pale blue sky. I think "Midori" originally referred to "Ao" with high brightness, so this would be a sky with even higher brightness and lower saturation. This is Murasaki Shikibu's arrangement of the popular expression 'Midori sky.'


This is Yūgiri and Kumoi-no-kari after their marriage. They continued corresponding even after being separated, and finally obtained the Minister of the Interior's permission six years later.


Genji Monogatari Emaki＿Yūgiri

Incidentally, Murasaki Shikibu's father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, was a '6th rank Kurōdo' (chamberlain) during the 63rd Emperor Kazan's reign. The historical drama 'Hikaru Kimi e' (Dear Radiance) recreates this as follows.

(From NHK)

It's clearly in the green family. However, it's certainly not "Asa-midori." While "Fuka-midori" would make sense logically, it does seem to have some blue in it. It has an atmosphere like a mixture of green and "Asagi-iro." When dyeing with indigo over a yellow base, it might tend to produce this kind of color in practice. It probably wouldn't result in the pure deep green I introduced earlier. This might be close to the color of real scallions. This color adopted for Tametoki's costume of this era may have been influenced by the description of "Asagi-iro" in The Tale of Genji. While it's designated as "Fuka-midori" in the system, with just a bit more blue it should indeed approach "Asagi-iro."



The current "Asagi-iro" is close to "Hanada (blue)," but the color of real scallions would be suitable for both the sky and Yugiri's hou, wouldn't it? I think Murasaki Shikibu imagined "Aasagi-iro" and "Asa-midori" as the average of their current definitions. If so, this would be very close to the color of the costume in the drama.

In Chapter 14, "Miotsukushi" (The Waymarks), in the "Sumiyoshi Pilgrimage" section of The Tale of Genji, there is a passage like this:

In the pine grove of "Fuka-midori," the varying shades of beautiful garments that appear like scattered flowers and autumn leaves are countless. Even 6th-rank officials, if they are Kurōdo, stand out in "Ao-iro"...

First, while "Fuka-midori" is used in the same way as today, why didn't Murasaki Shikibu use "Ao" here? Since Izumi Shikibu also wrote that pines are always "Midori," perhaps pines being "Midori" was a conventional expression, just like the sky being "Midori." Murasaki Shikibu also shows originality by adding "Fuka" (deep), similar to "浅緑(Asa-midori) sky." Like Sei Shonagon, she probably had her own rules for color expressions.

And the statement "Even 6th-rank officials, if they are Kurōdo, stand out in Ao-iro" is problematic. In The Tale of Genji, 6th rank should be set as either "Asa-midori" or "Asagi-iro," but this Ao-iro is clearly a different color from those.


Several "Kurōdo" also appear frequently in "Makuranosōshi (The Pillow Book)," so I will introduce some examples with modern Japanese translations.

"If someone who wants to become a Kurōdo but cannot do so immediately were wearing the coveted Ao-iro hou on the day of a festival, I would feel that they should not be made to take it off."
"6th-rank Kurōdo. Their Ao-iro appearance, freely wearing fine silk fabrics that even noble young lords can hardly wear, is extremely wonderful."
"When a Kurōdo's Ao-iro costume becomes damp from rain or such, it would look very elegant and interesting."
"(In contrast to other official positions) How stylish it would be if they could always wear Ao-iro."

Apparently, Sei Shonagon seems to have been a "Kurōdo fan and Ao-iro fetish," as she constantly praises them. The "Ao-iro hou" appears to be a costume called "Kikujin-no-hou." "Kikujin" is the color of koji mold and is said to be the same as the color called "Aoshiro-tsurubami" (blue-white oak gall).

From a modern perspective, this color would be difficult to call "Ao (blue)." We can confirm that even in the Heian period, color recognition was still quite different from today's understanding.

Kurōdo were permitted to ascend to the palace as close attendants to the emperor, and even though they held the same 6th rank, they were given preferential treatment regarding clothing and were allowed to wear "Ao-iro hou." Wearing this color is thought to have been a status symbol for Kurōdo. However, this doesn't mean they wore it year-round. Normally, they would have dressed the same as other 6th-rank officials, and it appears they only wore this during 'Hare' (formal occasions such as ceremonies and events).

However, Fujiwara no Sanesuke, who was 'Kurōdo-no-tō' (head of the chamberlains), did wear it, just as shown here.

麴塵袍 (Kikujin-no-hou)

(From NHK)

Even among Kurōdo, if you were at the top, you could wear this noble hou at all times. Indeed, this color would be in the green family today.

Summery

Murasaki Shikibu did indeed incorporate 'Midori no sora' (green sky), but I think this was primarily a literary device to bring about literary elegance, so it has little to do with the actual color of the sky, and discussions about hue in this regard are basically meaningless. However, the possibility remains that there was some intention behind the distinction between "Asamidori" and "Asagi-iro." With our current sensibilities, we would tend to distinguish between "green" and "scallion" based on the degree of yellow component, but this may not apply since at that time the color of the sky could be called "Midori (green)" in the first place. Since what mattered was how elegant it was, they may have had no interest whatsoever in making strict color distinctions. But would they really use two different terms under exactly the same conditions? If we assume there was some differing aspect, we can again think that they distinguished based on levels of brightness.

To give an example using these blue-green hues, this might have been their perception. For Sei Shōnagon, the top two rows would all be "Midori," but "Asa-midori" might have been used to emphasize 'light color.' The "Asa-midori" in the top row could work as a sky color. And I feel that "Asagi-iro" was in the row below that. In other words, I think it was set as having somewhat lower brightness. If Yūgiri's ihou was the 'Asa-midori (with star) in the second column from the left,' it might have been possible to use them differently—calling it "Asagi-iro" for nighttime, cloudy days, or indoor scenes, and "Asa-midori" for descriptions in bright outdoor settings. Also, the "Asa-midori" in the top row above that would seem perfectly fine as a sky color, wouldn't it?

Also, everything outside these three areas would be "Ao." I'm starting to think that 'Kikujin' might be in the leftmost column. Moreover, looking at the 'Kikujin' image, if this is Ao-iro, it seems there has been no progress regarding "青 (Ao)" at all. It's a grayish, typical old-style 'Ao.' While the colors of fresh green and pine needles changed from "青 (Ao)" to "緑 (Midori)," it seems safe to conclude that there was no change in the basic usage of "青 (Ao)."


Having examined the "緑 (Midori)" of the Heian period over two articles, I don't think we can say that a 'universal green color' was established during this era. "Ao" remained the same as well.

While court ladies' costumes evolved dramatically and came to use a great variety of colors, despite the ancient existence of "深緑 (Fuka-midori)" in literature, the character "緑" appears in no other color names in the color combinations of court dress called 'kasane no irome' except for "緑青 (Rokusho: verdigris)." What we now call "緑 (green)" was apparently called "青 (blue)," and "黄緑 (yellow-green)" was called "萌黄 (=budding yellow)," so "緑(Midori)" as a color name was still in an undeveloped state.