Kisuisen
The bright yellow color of daffodils. It is called ‘daffodil yellow’ in English, and ‘jonquille’ in French. It is said that the daffodil got its Japanese name (‘suisen’, literally meaning water sage) because its appearance of purity is like that of a sage.

Bra-iro
The color of roses. In Japan, happy thoughts about good events are expressed as ‘a rose-colored future.

Mizuasagi
A blue color with a hint of green. This pale indigo dye has a green hue, and is often called ‘mizuasagi’.

Tuyukusa-iro
The color of Asiatic dayflowers. The water taken up by the flower is called ‘aobana’, which we have used to draw rough sketches for dyeing. In the old days, Japanese people used to call this ‘tsukikusa’, and used it to dye clothing.

Fukagawanezu
A bright grey with a hint of blue. The English equivalent is ‘sky gray’. The name of the color comes from the kimonos that fashionable young people of Kiba, Edo Fukagawa, and geishas started to wear during the Edo period. A chic color of the unique Japanese aesthetic quality, ‘iki’.