Colours in Sri Lanka and Japan
Pick two countries and read what each colour means in one beside the other.
| 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | The national flag sets a gold lion on a maroon panel, which stands for the Sinhalese majority. Four bo leaves in the corners are for the Buddhist virtues of kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Politics and protestRed is the colour of the left, above all the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, whose supporters march in red on May Day. 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 | The orange stripe on the flag stands for the Tamils. It was added, with a green stripe, in 1951 so that the minorities had a place on it. Politics and protestBuddhist monks wear robes from bright saffron to deep maroon, and the shade often shows which monastic order a monk belongs to. Sacred and holy | Nothing recorded yet |
| Green | The green stripe on the flag stands for the Muslims, known as Moors. Green is also the colour of the United National Party. Politics and protest | Nothing recorded yet |
| Blue | Blue is the colour of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. The national cricket team also plays in dark blue with yellow. Politics and protest | 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 | Sinhalese Buddhists wear white to the temple and to funerals. White flags and banners are strung along the road to a house where someone has died. Mourning and death, Sacred and holy, 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 | 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.