Colours in Kenya and Japan
Pick two countries and read what each colour means in one beside the other.
| 🇰🇪 Kenya | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Maasai herders wrap themselves in the shuka, a cloth that is most often red. Red stands for bravery and for blood, and is held to frighten off lions. Protection and healingThe flag is black, red and green with white edging and a Maasai shield. The red is for the blood shed in the fight for independence. 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 |
| Orange | In the 2005 referendum on a new constitution, ballots showed a banana for yes and an orange for no. The no side won and became the Orange Democratic Movement. Politics and protest | Nothing recorded yet |
| Green | The green band of the flag stands for the land and its natural wealth. In Maasai beadwork green is the grass that feeds the cattle after rain. Nature and renewal | Nothing recorded yet |
| Blue | In Maasai beadwork each colour has a meaning tied to cattle and the land. Blue is the sky that gives rain, and so the colour of Enkai, God. 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 | The white edging on the flag stands for peace and honesty. In Maasai beadwork, white is the colour of milk and so of health and purity. Purity and peace | 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 | The black band at the top of the flag stands for the people of Kenya. The colours were taken from the flag of the party that led the country to independence. Politics and protest | 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.