Colours in France and Japan
Pick two countries and read what each colour means in one beside the other.
| 🇫🇷 France | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | The red Phrygian cap, a soft cap with the tip pulled forward, became the sign of liberty in the Revolution. Marianne, the figure of the Republic, still wears it. 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 | From late 2018, protesters against fuel taxes and living costs wore the yellow high-visibility vests that every driver must carry. They became known as the gilets jaunes. Politics and protestThe leader of the Tour de France wears the yellow jersey. It was introduced in 1919 and matches the yellow paper of L'Auto, the newspaper that ran the race. Festival and celebration | Nothing recorded yet |
| Blue | Blue was the colour of the French kings, whose arms were gold lilies on blue. It is the first band of the tricolour, and national sports teams are called Les Bleus. Politics and protest, Royalty and power | 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 | Toulouse is called la Ville Rose, the pink city, for the soft pink brick of its old buildings. Nature and renewal | 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 | White was the colour of the Bourbon kings. In the tricolour it sits between the blue and red of Paris, and after 1815 the restored monarchy flew a plain white flag. Royalty and power, Politics and protestFrench queens once mourned in white, a custom called deuil blanc. Mary, Queen of Scots, was painted in white mourning after the death of her husband, Francis II. Mourning and death, Royalty and power | 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 | Nothing recorded yet | 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.