Colours in Brazil and Japan
Pick two countries and read what each colour means in one beside the other.
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Red is the colour of the Workers' Party, founded in 1980, whose symbol is a red star. Its rallies are a sea of red shirts and flags. Politics and protest | The torii gates of Shinto shrines are often painted vermilion, a bright orange-red. The colour is held to keep evil away, and the long tunnels of gates at Fushimi Inari are the best known. Sacred and holy, Protection and healing |
| Yellow | The national football team plays in a yellow shirt with green trim, the canarinho. It was chosen in a newspaper contest after the 1950 World Cup final was lost in white. Festival and celebrationThe yellow diamond of the flag is commonly said to stand for gold. It came from the House of Habsburg, the family of the first empress. Politics and protest | Nothing recorded yet |
| Green | The green field of the flag is commonly said to stand for the forests. It was first the colour of the House of Braganza, the family of the first emperor. Politics and protest, Nature and renewal | Nothing recorded yet |
| Blue | Light blue and white are the colours of Iemanja, the sea goddess of Candomble and Umbanda. On 2 February in Salvador her followers send flowers and gifts out to sea. Sacred and holy | Indigo dyeing, called aizome, clothed ordinary people in deep blue through the Edo period. The men's national football team plays in blue and is nicknamed Samurai Blue. Festival and celebration |
| Purple and violet | Nothing recorded yet | Purple dye from the murasaki plant was costly and hard to make. In the court rank system set up under Prince Shotoku, the highest officials wore purple caps. Royalty and power |
| Pink and magenta | Nothing recorded yet | Pale pink is the colour of cherry blossom. In spring people picnic under the trees for hanami, flower viewing, and the short bloom is a common image for how brief life is. Nature and renewal, Festival and celebration |
| White | On New Year's Eve crowds on the beaches dress in white for peace in the year ahead. The custom comes from the Afro-Brazilian religions, whose followers wear white. Luck and prosperity, Festival and celebration, Sacred and holy | A bride at a Shinto wedding may wear the shiromuku, a kimono that is white from head to foot. White is also the colour of the paper streamers that mark sacred places. Weddings and marriage, Purity and peaceRed and white together, called kohaku, mark happy occasions. Curtains at ceremonies are striped red and white, and the New Year's Eve song contest sets a Red team against a White team. Festival and celebration |
| Black | Black is the usual colour of mourning. Widows in older generations wore it for a year, and the custom is called luto. Mourning and death | Mourners wear plain black, called mofuku, to funerals, and men add a black tie. Condolence money goes in an envelope tied with black and white cord. Mourning and death |
Customs vary by region, faith, generation and family. Each note links to its source on the country's own page.