Japanese Blue and Green #19 _ The Kamakura to Muromachi Period

Japanese Blue and Green #19

In the previous article, we examined the concept of "青 (Ao)" up to the Heian period and identified the differences from modern perceptions. While we introduced texts from the Kamakura period, the events they described were exclusively from the Heian period. From this article onward, we enter the age of the warrior class in earnest.


◆褐色(Kachiiro)

There are color names that became popular in the Kamakura period and were passed down to later generations: "褐色 (Kachiiro)" and "青褐 (Aokachi)". When you look them up, they appear as follows:

"Kachiiro" is said to be an indigo dye that has been darkened to a deeper, near-black shade. In the indigo dyeing process, the cloth is repeatedly pounded with a mortar to help the indigo penetrate the fabric. This pounding action, written as "搗く(tsuku)," can also be read as "搗つ(katsu)," and the color name "Kachiiro" apparently derives from this term.

In the warrior society, "Kachiiro" was associated with "勝色 (color of victory)" through wordplay—"搗つ色 (katsu-iro, the color from pounding)" became "勝つ色 (katsu-iro, the color of winning)"—and warriors used this indigo-dyed color on their armor and military equipment as a good luck charm. And the problematic "Aokachi" is described as a color with "intensified Ao" derived from this "Kachiiro."

It's also possible that "Kachiiro" and "Aokachi" referred to the same color. This would be a compound word formed by pairing characters with similar meanings, like "青碧 (Seiheki)." In that case, "Ao" would have referred to the indigo hue. Moreover, since reddish-brown was normally called "褐色 (Kasshoku)" up through the Heian period, it would be natural to use "Aokachi" to distinguish it from "Kasshoku."

However, if this "Ao" carried meanings of "grayish" or "ambiguous," then colors like these are also conceivable:

Looking back at "Ao" up through the Heian period, this interpretation seems more natural. However, since there appear to be no clues whatsoever, "Aokachi" may remain a mystery forever.

◆"Ao" in the Tsurezuregusa

Among the essays of the Kamakura period are the Hōjōki and Tsurezuregusa, but first, I found no instances of the character "Ao" in the Hōjōki. There are also no appearances of "緑 (Midori)."

The Tsurezuregusa contains quite natural examples of "Ao" used for mountains and willow leaves. Among these, there was nothing novel—they were all simply "the Ao of plants." However, I found one unusual instance of "Ao." Here is the full passage:

Ruan Ji was a thinker from Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He is said to have been able to switch between "Ao eyes" and "white eyes"—showing white eyes (later known as "白眼視 (hakuganshi)," meaning a cold stare) to unpleasant people who lacked proper manners, and "Ao eyes" to those he liked.


Ruan Ji (from Sun Wei's Gaoyitu juan)

Japanese has the expression "to be looked at with white eyes," referring to being given a cold or disapproving stare, which derives from Ruan Ji's white-eyed gaze. From his "Ao eyes" came the four-character idiom "阮籍青眼," meaning "to show special favor or respect," used in phrases like "he received 阮籍青眼 from those around him."

As fellow Asians, we naturally understand that "Ao eyes" refers to black pupils. This is the same extremely difficult "Ao" we see in the example of "Aoge" (horse coat color). It likely designates "a deep black where subtle traces of other colors overlap, creating a unique richness" as "Ao." This is a sensibility particular to Chinese culture, and in Japanese, I can only think of examples like "Aoge" and "Aokage" (both horse coat colors).

Equinox (Aokage: Brown)

(画像: https://en.netkeiba.com/)

This is a mysterious Chinese sense of "Ao," similar to the "Awo" derived from '漠(baku).' Kenkō Hōshi, the author of Tsurezuregusa, seems to have understood this subtle "Ao." The fact that terms like "Aoge" and "Aokage" have survived suggests that the Japanese of that era understood this sensibility.

That said, these were merely quotations, and I thought there were no new words using this kind of "Ao." However, the "Ao" in the aforementioned "Aokachi" might possibly be this very concept. The "Ao" derived from the ancient Japanese sense of ambiguity may have been layered with the mysterious Chinese "Ao," creating "Aokachi" to describe "an almost-black state with subtle hints of indigo." Moreover, if this is the case, it would be a neologism from the Nara period.

If the meaning of "Ao" is the Chinese one, then the colors I introduced at the beginning also make sense.

If the state of indigo darkened to near-black was described as "Ao," this would be a rare case of borrowing the uniquely Chinese perception of "Ao."



◆"Ao" in the Taiheiki

Even in the Muromachi period, the character "Ao" doesn't appear very frequently, but let me introduce the instances of "Ao" in the Taiheiki.

The Taiheiki is a military chronicle depicting approximately 50 years of history from Emperor Go-Daigo's overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate through the turbulence of the Northern and Southern Courts to the establishment of the Muromachi shogunate. Since it was completed in the late 14th century, everything should have been written according to Muromachi period color perception.

** 青女房(Aonyōbō) **
First is the term "Aonyōbō." As I introduced in the previous article, this closely resembles "Aome" from the Azuma Kagami. It refers to young female attendants of relatively low status who serve nobility.
This is also an example of "Ao" meaning "immature."


** 青侍 (Aozamurai) **
As the warrior class came to power and samurai began working in government institutions, they were basically placed at the sixth rank. Since the court robes for the sixth rank and below were "縹 (hanada)" color during this period, the term "Aozamurai" emerged. This is a clear example showing that the indigo-dyed "hanada" was recognized as belonging to the "Ao" category.

Additionally, since "Aozamurai" seems to have been used for "ordinary samurai who were merely young in age," this "Ao" may also have carried the meaning of "immature."


** 青塚 (Aozuka) **
This refers to a moss-covered grave. As a grave that hasn't been well-maintained, it apparently represents "無縁塚 (muenzuka)"—a grave built to honor spirits without surviving relatives.

** 青苗 (Seibyō/Aonae)**
"Seibyō" refers to agricultural crops. The reading may also have been "Aonae."
The passage reads: "A severe drought occurred and withered the earth; for a hundred ri (approximately 400 km) beyond the capital region, there was only parched land with no Seibyō."
This would mean there were no verdantly growing crops.


** 青雲の高官 (Seiun no Kōkan) **
As I mentioned in the discussion of the Kojiki, "青雲 (Seiun/Aokumo)" appears to be a word with various meanings.
"Seiun no kōkan" means "a person with boundlessly high rank and position, like the clear, lofty sky"—an expression derived from Chinese.
In this case, "青雲" (literally "Ao" + "cloud") is close to the modern "blue sky." This "Ao" is undoubtedly in the blue category.


** 青天白日の如く (Seiten Hakujitsu no Gotoku) **
Like the aforementioned "Seiun," "青天 (Seiten)" is also a Chinese expression for the clear sky. "青天白日 (Seiten Hakujitsu)" literally means "Ao heaven and white sun," indicating perfectly clear weather without a single cloud. In the Taiheiki, it's used to mean "clear sky." While it's now also used metaphorically to mean "having a clear conscience," such figurative usage may not have existed in the Muromachi period.



By the way, while both "Seiun" and "Seiten" would be "青空 (blue sky)" in modern usage, I haven't been able to confirm the native Japanese expression "青空 (aozora)" in any texts predating the Edo period, at least from my cursory research. Indeed, when searching for the first appearance of "青空 (aozora)," I can't find any definitive opinions. I believe this is because the Chinese-derived reading "青空 (seikū)" also exists, so when "青空" appears in classical texts, it's impossible to determine without furigana whether it was read as "aozora" or "seikū."

Furthermore, I have the impression that "青空 (seikū)" and "青空 (aozora)" carry subtly different nuances. "Seikū" seems to refer to a more perfectly clear azure sky and feels more likely to be used for spiritual metaphors beyond mere description of the sky.


** 青蛾の御女 (Seiga no Onmusume) **
"Seiga" directly means "Ao moth." This came to refer to "eyebrows painted with eyebrow ink in a crescent shape like moth antennae," and became a synonym for beautiful women or girls.
This might be a vivid structural color, but this "Ao" is unclear. It could be a dull color, but since it's Chinese-derived and used to describe beauty, I would think it's a vivid color. However, whether it's green or blue is impossible to determine.


** 丹青 (Tansei) **
The expression "丹青を尽せる妙音堂" (Tansei wo Tsukuseru Myōondō) appears in the text. "Tansei" simply means red and "Ao." Since it appears multiple times in the Taiheiki, it can be considered an idiomatic expression.
This example reads: "The luxurious buildings were studded with jewels, the guest halls reached to the clouds, but the vividly colored Myōondō and the Hossuiin adorned with lapis lazuli gradually fell into disrepair year by year, becoming mere shadows of their former selves."
In other words, "tansei wo tsukuseru" (exhausting red and "Ao") serves as a metaphor for vivid coloration, so this "Ao" doesn't carry the meaning of vagueness. It doesn't seem to clearly envision a specific hue either, but rather falls into the usage as a "color group."

The Myōondō enshrined Benzaiten and later became a temple. It must have originally been decorated with vivid pigments. Though the Myōondō underwent multiple relocations, it still exists near the Kamogawa Delta today.

Demachi Myōondō



◆"緑 (Midori)" in the Taiheiki

Though the frequency of appearance is quite low, let's also examine the trends of "Midori." The Taiheiki contains several expressions describing willow and pine needles as "Midori." There are also expressions describing river water as "Midori," but as a new expression, there's a passage that reads:

"原野血に染て草はさながら緑をかへ"
(gen'ya chi ni somite kusa wa sanagara midori wo kae)

This is a description of grass on the ground being stained with blood during battle, but this "Midori" is neither new shoots nor the verdure of trees. The "Midori" of grass contrasted with the red of blood both highlights the horror of the battlefield and evokes the peaceful, idyllic field that should have been there. It also suggests that the concept "grass is midori-colored" either exists as a foundation or is emerging. In other words, regarding hue, we can say that "Midori = green" was established in the Muromachi period.

That said, I don't think it's exactly the same as the modern "Midori." From this passage, I could sense the author's intention to vividly depict the contrast with blood as a symbol of death. "Midori" likely still retained connotations of "youthfulness" and "life force."



Summery

Even in the age of the warrior class, "Ao" remained fundamentally unchanged. While many new words emerged, I didn't sense any change in the perception of "Ao" itself.

However, the "Ao" in "Aokachi" may be something different from the sensibilities we've seen so far. While I had thought that when used as a tone descriptor it referred to ambiguous states such as grayish colors, the possibility has emerged that it may have incorporated from ancient times the "uniquely Chinese Ao"—an extremely low brightness state of "near-black."

Furthermore, examples of the pattern "Ao [color of something]" are extremely rare, and even when used as a color name, metaphorical usage has increased. Therefore, I feel its nature as a color group name has strengthened. The use of "Ao" as a simple color name may have been declining.

On the other hand, the color perception of "Midori" appears to have been essentially complete by the Muromachi period. The recognition of "Midori = green" as we know it today seems to have been established during this time. However, I'm not sure whether "Midori" can be called a pure color name yet. It seems to still retain some non-color elements such as "youthfulness" and "life force."


Next time, we'll cover the period from Muromachi through the Warring States and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. Stay tuned!