The system of developed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the 8th century saw certain colors of traditional court clothing reserved for certain ranks of court official at the Imperial Court in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. The hierarchy of colors was developed under the system.

History

was used only for the outerwear of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

. It was banned for use by anyone except the Japanese monarch. To this day, the ceremonial clothes of the Emperor worn during the enthronement ceremony are dyed in this color, extracted from sumac ('' Toxicodendron succedaneum''), a Japanese wax tree. Seven additional colors were installed in the 10th and 11th centuries: * is the color of the outerrobes of the Emperor of Japan. As an exception, this color could be worn by the concubines and mistresses of the monarch, who were in the position of palace servants of the 4th rank, as well as secretaries of the treasury of the 6th rank. * is the color of the outerwear of the ex-Emperor of Japan. * is the color of the outerwear of the crown prince of Japan. * is the outerwear color of 1st rank aristocrats. * is a reserve forbidden color, a substitute for ochre. Produced from the fruits of gardenia (''

Gardenia jasminoides ''Gardenia jasminoides'', commonly known as gardenia, is an evergreen flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is native to parts of South-East Asia. Wild plants range from 30 centimetres to 3 metres (about 1 to 10 feet) in height. The ...

''), permission to wear this color could be granted by imperial rescript. * is an alternate forbidden color, a substitute for deep purple. Permission to wear this color could be granted by imperial rescript. * is a reserve forbidden color, a substitute for deep purple. Produced from the fruit of ''

Biancaea sappan ''Biancaea sappan'' is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood. Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (''Paubrasilia echinata''), ...

'', permission to wear this color could be granted by imperial rescript. During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1867–1911) of the 19th century, the ban was lifted from all colors except sumac, ochre and gardenia.

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, last = Shaver , first =R. , title = Kabuki Costume , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Pf3PAgAAQBAJ , publisher= Tuttle Publishing , date = 2013 , pages = 79 , isbn = 9781462903986 National colours Textile arts of Japan Cultural history of Japan