Colours in Nigeria and Japan
Pick two countries and read what each colour means in one beside the other.
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Among the Igbo, a red cap marks a titled man. Only chiefs and men who have taken the ozo title may wear it, sometimes with an eagle feather. Royalty and power | 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 | Coral beads, in shades from orange to deep red, are the regalia of the Oba of Benin and his chiefs. Edo brides wear a crown and collars of coral. Royalty and power, Weddings and marriage | Nothing recorded yet |
| Green | The flag has two green bands with white between them. Green stands for the country's farmland and natural wealth, and white for peace. It was designed by a student, Taiwo Akinkunmi. Nature and renewal, Politics and protestThe national football team, the Super Eagles, plays in green. Before 1988 the side was known as the Green Eagles. Festival and celebration | Nothing recorded yet |
| Blue | Adire is the indigo-dyed cloth of the Yoruba, made by women in Abeokuta and Ibadan. Patterns are tied, stitched or painted with cassava paste before the cloth goes into the dye. Protection and healing | 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 | In Yoruba religion, white belongs to Obatala, the orisha who shaped human bodies. His priests and followers wear white cloth and offer white foods. 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.