Latest newsletter: "Suo (Indian redwood)"
October 28, 2019Here is a part of prose from passage 57 in "The Pillow Book (Makura no Soshi, a book about court nobles) "completed in early 11c written by Sei Shonagon.
"Yoki ieno Chumon akete Birogeno Kurumano shiroku kiyogenaruni Suono shitasudare Nioi itokiyoranite Shijini uchikaketarukoso Medetakere."
Interpretation:
When I open the back gate in a noble person's house, it is totally fascinating to see the bullock cart. It is covered with white Biroge (strips of Areca catechu palm leaves) beautifully and also has the most graceful Suo coloured (red purple) clothes blinds hooked on a footstool.
In Japan, it is getting cooler in the mornings and evenings and people can gradually feel the arrival of autumn. We see people in dark green or dark red garments in the streets during this season. The Suo colour is a slightly blackish red, which is made from the Fabaceae family plant which has the same name of the plant, "Suo" colour.
Read the full article:
Enchanting classy colour: Suo (Indian redwood)
Translation by: Hitomi Kochi, reviewed by Chan Yee Ting
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