![]() But when speaking of indigo-dye, it refers to the deep dark navy color that borders on black with a purple hue, this color is called “Kachi-iro” or “Katsu-iro”. The color just in between indigo and purple is called “褐色”(Kachi-iro), nowadays when people see the kanji “褐色” they might think of another color with the same kanji characters, but is read as “Kasshoku”, which is a dark brown color similar to that of tanned leather. ![]() Continuing on, the next level is 縹色(Hanada-iro), 藍色(Ai-iro), and as the color starts becoming deeper and navy, it becomes 紺(Kon), navy with a faint tint of purple is named 紫紺(Shikon), and the most common color to see when speaking about indigo-dye is 濃紺(Noukon), more commonly known as dark navy when speaking in Kendo terms. Some examples of this, starting from the white fabric that it starts with, is the first dip which produces a very faint blue color and is called 藍白(Aijiro), as the process continues, the next level is similar to the faintly green color on the stem of a leek, called 浅葱(Asagi). What’s even more amazing is that the Japanese with their aesthetic sense, actually named all the levels the indigo-dye passes through during the dying process. ![]() During the process, the fabric will go from being a slightly green color to a deep blue with hints of purple, a process that can take a long time and 40+ repetitions before reaching the final and desired color hue. The natural color pigment of Indigo-dye is hard to use and any fabric has to be dyed multiple times to produce the deep blue color that we are used to see. So for what reason was this color used for Bogu? The deep Indigo color that also reminds you of the blue color of the sea, has always appealed to the aesthetic sense of the Japanese people and is deeply rooted in the daily life in Japan. Indigo-dye is also called “Japan Blue”, the story behind this starts in the 8 th year of Meiji (1875), when a chemist named Atkinson from England was invited by the Japanese government, and seeing the Indigo color and dye widely used in Japan at that time he was very impressed and called it “Japan Blue”. Also Lafcadio Hearn after coming to Japan, famously wrote “…the little houses under their blue roofs, the little shop-fronts hung with blue, and the smiling little people in their blue costumes…”, the indigo color making a profound impression in his description of Japan. The famous Edo period Ukiyo-e master Andō Hiroshige, best known for his landscapes, made great use of the different shades of indigo to vividly depict the scenery of Japan. Bogu are traditionally dyed using Aizome (indigo-dye) and in the past Aizome was something that the Japanese people could find all around them, the indigo-dyed color being a natural part of their everyday life.
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