Sakura Color

Sakura Color holds a supreme position in Japanese color culture, its birth closely related to the national culture movement of the Heian period. At that time, Japan broke away from Tang influence, native aesthetics awakened, and cherry blossoms replaced plum blossoms as the national flower. Sakura Color subsequently became the most frequently recited color in waka poetry and tales.

During the Edo period, the Somei-Yoshino cherry was successfully cultivated in the village of Somei, Tokyo. This variety, with its extremely light, almost white pink flowers, quickly swept the nation. The hue of Sakura Color was thus established—an almost imperceptible, hazy, light pink like mist.

In the late Edo period, color culture reached its peak. 'Sakura Color' was formally recorded in color spectrum documents like 'Tekagami Taneiro Cho.' The dyeing and weaving industry developed various techniques for producing Sakura Color, from yuzen dyeing to Edo komon patterns, making it consistently the most popular color for women's kimonos.

After the Meiji Restoration, as Japan presented its national image to the West, Sakura Color, along with cherry blossoms, was elevated to a symbol of national spirit. Metaphors in military songs like 'falling like cherry blossoms' gave Sakura Color a slightly tragic life aesthetic.

In the post-war peacetime, Sakura Color returned to its gentle nature, becoming a core color in Japanese pop culture and lifestyle. From cherry blossom season limited goods to the pink world of Hello Kitty, Sakura Color continuously outputs Japanese gentle aesthetics.