The Poetics of Color Names: A Hundred Stories in Gray
The Poetics of Color Names: A Hundred Stories in Gray
WABISUKE Editorial Department | Series on Color and Memory, Chapter 3
"Simple is the height of elegance"
The townspeople of Edo went beyond the restrictions of forbidden colors and wove a hundred poetic sentiments into the "plain" gray color.
It was a culture that played with color through words, and an eye for discovering beauty hidden in the everyday.
Forty-eight Teas and One Hundred Mice: The moment when color names become poetry
During the Edo period, the colors allowed for common people's costumes were limited.
However, within these limitations, by adding subtle nuances to brown and grey colors and giving them names, the world of color expanded infinitely.
• Shijuu Hatcha Hyaku Nezu (Forty-eight Browns, One Hundred Mice): In reality, there are color names with numbers greater than 48 or 100. The numbers symbolize "large numbers."
• The poetic quality of color names: For example, "Hatobanezu" is a bluish gray like a pigeon's feathers, and "Ainezu" is a deep gray that retains a hint of indigo dye.
• Hierarchy through words: The sense of naming was considered more elegant than the color itself, and it became a way for townspeople to demonstrate their culture and aesthetic sense.
Color names are vessels of memory - the intersection of everyday life and nature
The color names contain landscapes, seasons, and emotions.
It was a culture in which ordinary people put into words the beauty they found in their daily lives and preserved it.
• Connection with nature: Color names that reflect the changing seasons, such as "Kasuminezu" (Mist Mouse) and "Tsuyukusa Nezu" (Dew Grass Mouse).
• Projection of emotions: Poetic expressions that superimpose feelings onto colors, such as "Ureinezu" (sorrowful rat) and "Yumenezu" (dream rat).
• Craftsman's memories: Dyeing craftsmen and artists conveyed the nuances of color through words, passing on techniques and sensibilities.
The poetics of color names in WABISUKE fabrics
Gray is not just gray.
It is a vessel of poetic memory that reflects a hundred landscapes and a hundred hearts.
At WABISUKE, we hope to weave the poetics of these color names into fabrics and words, bringing quiet beauty to modern life.
Next time, we will explore the world of color that can be perceived with the five senses, with the theme of "Color and Fragrance - Layers of Memories Floating in Costumes."