Japanese Blue and Green #26_ The Modern Era and Conclusion

Japanese Blue and Green #26

This series has finally reached its final installment.
I will trace the flow from the end of the Edo period to the present day.


Changes in Perception During the Edo Period

I will begin with the word "青空 (Aozora: blue sky)" that appears in a haiku.

青空と一つ色なり汗拭ひ
小林一茶

Aozora-to hitotsu-ironari ase-nugui
by Kobayashi Issa

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) is one of the representative haiku poets of the Edo period.

Portrait of Issa
(painted by Muramatsu Shunpo / collection of the Issa Memorial Museum)

He was likely holding an indigo-dyed tenugui (hand towel). It could also have been an imported handkerchief, which had already begun to enter Japan by the late Edo period. In any case, this haiku describes how that cloth and the "青空" were perceived as "one color." For now, we can picture a scene where a clear sky spreads out beyond the tenugui.

First, the expression "青空" is not something to be taken for granted. It was a word that did not exist for a long time, even into the Edo period. In the Nara period, "青い空 (blue sky)" might possibly have brought to mind a cloudy scene. Since "漠 (baku)," the origin of 青, was not a word indicating clear weather, the sense of calling a clear sky "青" may have been absent for a long time.

Through Chinese poetry, the word "青天 (seiten)" had entered Japan by the Heian period. However, it does not seem to have taken root. The more common "seiten" is "晴天 (clear sky)." In a linked verse by Mukai Kyorai, a disciple of Matsuo Basho, we find the phrase "青天に有明月の朝ぼらけ (In the seiten, the daybreak with the lingering moon)." It depicts a scene where the moon remains in a perfectly clear dawn sky, but since it is dawn, this is different from an ordinary blue sky. It seems the sense of calling a clear sky "青" is a fairly new one after all.

However, if we consider Issa's haiku as a visual image, "青空" would utterly lack vividness if it referred to a vague color range including greens. It certainly cannot be interpreted as a cloudy scene either. Issa must have used "青空" as a word referring unmistakably to a blue sky, confident that this expression would convey the color accurately.

Was it only after 'Bero-ai' (Prussian blue) colored daily life and vivid skies spread across ukiyo-e prints that the expression "青空" finally came into being?

This painting by Hokusai, known as "赤富士 (Akafuji: red Fuji)," is a representative example of using 'Bero-ai' to express "clear weather."

Katsushika Hokusai, "Gaifū Kaisei" (South Wind, Clear Sky)

However, whether this haiku was understood by the general public is unclear. The perception of "青 (Ao)" and "緑 (Midori)" must have varied by region and age group, and the old understanding of "青 (Ao)" was likely still mainstream.

Even so, the fact that a poet like Issa believed the scene could be conveyed through "青空" suggests that the ground was ready for everyone to align with the "new '青'." One could say that the situation was already waiting for some kind of action.

Hiraga Gennai's Perception of "青 (Ao)"

One of those who inadvertently laid the groundwork for the "new 青" was Hiraga Gennai. In an earlier article, I introduced him as the person who first documented 'Bero-ai' in Japan. Gennai independently studied Western painting techniques as part of Rangaku (Dutch studies), and his painting methods were passed down to the Akita Ranga school.

The Akita Ranga school is a lineage of hybrid Japanese-Western painting that began when Odano Naotake, a retainer of the Akita domain, learned Western painting techniques from Hiraga Gennai, and later developed with the participation of figures such as Satake Shozan, the lord of the Akita domain.

Odano Naotake, "Tōeizan Shinobazu-no-Ike" (Shinobazu Pond at Tōeizan), collection of the Akita Museum of Modern Art

Odano Naotake followed Hiraga Gennai to Edo and assisted with Gennai's work, including drawing the illustrations for "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Book of Anatomy). He later transmitted his Western painting techniques to many figures, beginning with Satake Shozan.

Satake Shozan, "Matsu ni Karatori-zu" (Pine and Exotic Bird), private collection

Indeed, this is a fusion of Japanese and Western styles. In such a community, the perception of "青" held by Hiraga Gennai, the originator, must have had a significant influence. In "Butsurui hinshitsu," published in 1763, Gennai organized many blue-family pigments, and the colors he classified as "青" were "空青" (Kūsei: sky blue), "曾青" (Sōsei: deep blue-green), "紺青" (Konjō: dark blue), and Belijnblauw.

Belijnblauw is what would later be called 'Bero-ai,' in other words, the source of Prussian blue. Gennai categorized this color as a deeper and more vivid version of "Konjō." In terms of hue, it was close to "Konjō," and since it was far deeper and more vivid than the traditional "Konjō," he positioned it as a "higher-grade Konjō."

Gennai also explains that Prussian blue is close to the Chinese "仏頭青" and "回回青." "仏頭青 (Butsutōsei)" refers to the blue rahotsu (spiral curls) on the heads of Buddhist statues, and "回回青 (Kaikaisei)" is a blue that came to China from the Central Asian Islamic world. "回回青" is also called "回青 (Kaisei)." In Japan, Islam is called "回教 (Kaikyō)," but in China it is called both "回教" and "回回教," and "回回" seems to refer to Muslims.

The raw materials for all of these are cobalt-based. In other words, "Gennai thought that Prussian blue was close to cobalt blue."

仏頭青/ 九品阿弥陀如来 Butsutōsei / Kuhon Amida Nyorai	回回青/ 中国明代の磁器 Kaikaisei / Chinese porcelain from the Ming dynasty
Kuhombutsu Joshin-ji Temple	Tokyo National Museum/ ColBase

I also examined the descriptions of "緑青" (Rokushō: verdigris), "藍" (Ai: indigo), and "紫" (Murasaki: purple), and it appears that Gennai's perception of "青" was that cobalt blues such as "空青" (Kūsei), "曾青" (Sōsei), "紺青" (Konjō), and Prussian blue were arranged within the group called "青," while "藍" (Ai) and "紫" (Murasaki) were placed outside as separate categories.

Looking at examples of other minerals as well, one notices that Gennai's distinction between "青 (Ao)" and "緑 (Midori)" is remarkably detailed and modern. Items listed under the category of "青" are on the blue side even by modern standards, while items in the green family are treated with the character '緑' properly included, as in "緑塩" (Ryokuen) and "緑青" (Rokushō). Particularly in the entry for "緑塩" (Ryokuen), regarding a foreign product called Spaans groen (a Western green pigment), it is written that "緑 (Midori)" is lighter than "青 (Ao)." This shows that green and blue were regarded as separate things.

However, in descriptions of plants, "緑" and "青" are mixed. While Gennai distinguishes "青" and "緑" quite accurately for inorganic substances, the basic color for plants seems to inevitably be "青." He seems to use "緑" only when the color is light.

To summarize Gennai's color expressions, it seems that he understood "緑" and "青" roughly as follows:
緑: yellowgreen, green, bluegreen
青: green (plants only), bluegreen, blue

In essence, this is almost the same as today. This perception dates from 1763, earlier than "Shizuki's '青', from which '緑' was removed." Whether Gennai perceived "青" and "緑" as completely independent hues is debatable, but the fact that a figure who was a pioneer of Western painting techniques and connected to the lineage of the Akita Ranga school placed "青" and "緑" side by side and made them comparable carries great significance. Not as a scientific matter, but as ordinary descriptions of things, this parallel arrangement served as a great preparation for the era to come.

Westernization Policy

With the groundwork in place, the Meiji period brought a new action called the Westernization policy. The Meiji government was a new regime that had overthrown the Edo shogunate, and it rejected the values of the old system. Under the slogans of "fukoku kyōhei" (enrich the country, strengthen the military) and "bunmei kaika" (civilization and enlightenment), it rapidly adopted Western science, technology, and institutions.

In Meiji 3 (1870), the physics textbook "理化日記 (Rika Nikki)" used at Kaisei School (later the University of Tokyo) contains the description "青緑分界ノ黒線F" (the black line F that divides '青' and '緑').

From "理化日記"

(Image: National Diet Library Digital Collections)

Here, the boundary line dividing "青" and "緑" on the spectrum is explicitly indicated in physical terms. At the top, a diagram is also shown, with the spectrum consisting of seven colors: "赤" (Aka: red), "橙" (Daidai: orange), "黄" (Ki: yellow), "緑" (Midori: green), "青" (Ao), "紺" (Kon: dark blue/navy), and "紫" (Murasaki: purple). Whether this is the oldest "seven colors" in Japan is unclear, but at least by Meiji 3, "青" and "緑" had been recognized as independent colors. In the end, things came to be just as Hiraga Gennai had perceived, and just as Shizuki Tadao had written.

One could say this was the moment when the broad "青" officially disappeared. In the world of science, which does not allow ambiguity, this was perhaps a natural outcome. However, that does not mean it spread quickly.

There are examples showing that even in the academic world, the perception of "青" did not change so easily.


From "物理階梯"

(Image: National Diet Library Digital Collections)

This is "物理階梯 (Butsuri Kaitei)," the first elementary science textbook in Japan, published by the Ministry of Education in Meiji 5. Its content was translated and adapted from an American introductory science book by a man named Katayama Junkichi.

In this book's explanation of the spectrum, the seven colors are recorded as "青蓮色, 老藍色, 正藍色, 正緑色, 正黄色, 橙黄色, 正紅色" (unique notations whose readings are unknown). The position corresponding to the original "青" is "正藍色" (true navy). Even though "青" had been established as an independent color in the notation "赤橙黄緑青紺紫" at Kaisei School in Meiji 3—that is, in higher education—in elementary education, "青" was still not used as a color name in the spectrum.

I don't think this is a case of Katayama Junkichi being unaware of the latest perception of "青." Since this was a major project involving elementary education as a whole, he must have checked the content of textbooks used in higher education.

So, it is more natural to think that he knowingly avoided using the "new 青." Elementary education is aimed at young children. In their daily lives, "青" was still being used in the old sense. Introducing the "new 青" there would surely have caused confusion for many children. Whether these were familiar words or not is unclear, but using color names like "正藍" (true navy) or "老藍" (old/dark navy) would at least avoid confusion. As an educational designer, it is likely that such consideration was at work.

However, as time passed, the "new 青" came to be adopted in elementary education as well. In "物理小學 (Butsuri Shōgaku)" of Meiji 11 (1878), the single character "青" appears among the seven colors of the spectrum.

From "物理小學"

(Image: Japanese Modern Textbook Digital Archive)

At the point of Meiji 5, the traditional color names had been adopted to avoid the "new 青," but by Meiji 11, the "new 青" had finally reached the field of elementary education. The moment when common children began to learn the "modern 青"—this, I believe, marks the completion of the establishment of the modern perception of "青 (Ao)."

Normally, changes in language spread naturally from the daily lives of common people and eventually reach the intellectual class—this is usually the flow. However, with the "new 青," it went in the opposite direction. It was academically defined and then descended to the common people through the educational system. Since this means that national policy changed the sense of language, it is a rather rare case, isn't it? Ordinarily this would not succeed, but with the "wave of Westernization" combined with the "groundwork" that had been laid up to the Edo period, it barely came to fruition.

Along the way, various things happened, such as the loss of the tonal function, but if we illustrate the beginning and the current state of "青," in the end it looks like this.

Since ancient times, "青" included green, blue, and indigo. Through gradual changes up to the Meiji period, "緑" acquired much of the green region, and "藍" and "紺" became independent color names indicating the area around indigo, leaving the blue region as "青." By this process, colors like sky blue and light blue would have remained within "青."

However, this subdivided definition is only at the academic and educational level. Independent of this, expressions closely tied to daily life, such as "青野菜" (blue-green vegetables), "青物" (blue-green produce), and "青々と" (lush and verdant), remained unchanged.

The answer to "Why do Japanese people call apples 'blue apples' (aoringo) even though they are green?" lies here, I believe. Although the Meiji-era movement separated "青" and "緑" as hue definitions, many instances of the "old 青" remained unaffected by education. Since these are traditions from ancient times, and there is neither reason nor necessity to change them, this is only natural. Even Hiraga Gennai, who must have clearly understood the "new 青," treated "plants as 青," so it is rather natural that the expression "青野菜" (blue vegetables) was not abandoned afterward.

Final Summary

Looking back on this series, I have organized my thoughts on "青" and "緑."

Simply summarizing the transition of the colors represented by "青 (Ao)", it goes like this:

(all low-saturation) + (all cool colors)
   ↓
(all low-saturation) + (green family) + (blue family) + (navy family)
   ↓
(green family) + (blue family) + (navy family)
   ↓
(blue family)

However, traditional expressions such as "the 青 of plants" and "one's face is 青 (pale)" are always added.

Ancient "青 (Ao)" vaguely referred to tonal quality and all cool colors, but the eventual separation of "緑 (Midori)" and "藍 (Ai)" as independent hue terms was, in the end, significant. "緑 (Midori)," which appeared in the Heian period as a translation for the Chinese character "碧," gradually came to represent only green over a long period of time. The navy family, through the development of indigo dyeing, was separated as "藍 (Ai)" or "紺 (Kon)." Then, at the stage of academic definition in the Meiji period, "青 (Ao)" became a color name referring only to the blue family.

However, "青 (Ao) refers only to the blue family" is a matter limited to schools, and the "青" that is deeply rooted in everyday life remains unchanged, unrelated to this. "青物 (Aomono: vegetables)," "青々と (aoao-to: lush and verdant)," "青二才 (aonisai: a green youth)," "青白い顔 (aojiroi kao: a pale face)"—these instances of "青" are not simple color expressions but idiomatic expressions, and they will likely never disappear.

Moreover, even as pure color expressions, there is no certainty that the "old 青" has completely vanished. It may be quietly living on somewhere, and someday the "old 青" might revive. Since language is a living thing, it is more enjoyable to think that unexpected things can happen.


In closing...
Through this series, I encountered many topics I had never anticipated.
Hemp, Emperor Jinmu, Kawachi Bay, Omonushi-no-Okami, the Kamo legend, "Chinu" (black sea bream), "Ao-gisu" (a rare whiting species), the three Sen families, Hasegawa Tōhaku...
The list could go on, but before I knew it, being led by what I encountered to look things up had become a habit.
There have also been many occasions where I visited places connected to each topic after writing the articles. I paid my respects at Kashihara Jingu and Omiwa Jinja, and at Chishaku-in Temple, I saw "Viewing Maple Leaves" and "Cherry Tree" in person.

Because I often strayed from the main topic, the content became rather miscellaneous. However, you can access all articles directly from the menu POST → JOURNAL LIST, so I hope you will also read the supplementary articles.

Thank you very much for your company over such a long time.
I look forward to your continued support of Infigo online.