Colours in Saudi Arabia and Japan

Men wear a red and white checked headcloth, the shemagh, held by a black cord. The pattern is so tied to the kingdom that it reads as national dress.

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.

The flag is green with the Muslim declaration of faith and a sword in white. Because of the sacred text it is never flown at half mast.

The national football team plays in green and white and is called the Green Falcons. On National Day, 23 September, cities are lit in green.

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.

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.

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.

Men on the pilgrimage to Mecca wear ihram, two pieces of plain unstitched white cloth. Dressed alike, a king and a labourer cannot be told apart.

The everyday dress of Saudi men is the thobe, a long white robe. White cotton reflects the sun, and darker wool thobes come out in winter.

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.

Red 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.

The Kaaba in Mecca is covered by the kiswah, a black silk cloth with verses of the Quran worked in gold and silver thread. A new one is made every year.

Women traditionally wear the abaya, a loose black cloak, over their clothes in public. Coloured abayas have become more common in recent years.

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.