Colours have strong metaphorical and cultural meanings when it comes to the kimono – the iconic garment of Japan. Read on to discover the significance of the colour red.
The dazzling red dye used to colour many Edo period (1615 – 1868) kimono derives from safflower (benibana), which was extremely costly. Its use was often combined with an expensive and labour-intensive tie-dye technique called kanoko shibori. The garment above is therefore hugely extravagant, in terms of both price and visual effect.
In Edo period Japan, the colour red signified youth and glamour. The benibana dye faded quickly, so the colour became symbolic of mad, passionate love that is all consuming but fleeting. Red kimono with tie-dyed hemp-leaf designs were associated with courtesans, but this garment may have been worn by a young merchant-class woman copying the fashions of the pleasure district.
Red was a favoured colour of courtesans who were the fashion leaders of their day. Their seductive power relied on gorgeous garments. This courtesan’s outer-kimono bears the powerful design of a dragon emerging from clouds, while her inner garment has the red, tie-dyed pattern of hemp leaves so favoured by high-ranking prostitutes.
During the Edo period, the expensive benibana red dye was often banned by laws put in place to prevent conspicuous consumption. Yet there was no restriction on using the dye for undergarments or linings. Here, the woman in the boat is lifting the hem of her kimono to seductively reveal the red underneath. Wearing the coveted colour in this way became very fashionable, a fleeting glimpse being deemed far more sensuous than an overt display.
Even in the modern world, red can still signify glamour and passion. Madonna wore this striking scarlet Jean Paul Gaultier ensemble for her music video Nothing Really Matters. She was inspired by Arthur Golden’s bestselling book Memoirs of a Geisha, referring to the novel’s fiery antagonist Hatsumomo as her ‘muse’.
