[Explanation of a color]

The Ni-iro is an austere red color with a yellowish tinge like red clay. Ni” is the name of the oldest red paint pigment and Tan-iro dye. The Shosoin treasures contain several tanni pigments, and one of them is inscribed with the following inscription: “Kamidan 3 koku 6 ryo, Tenpyo Shoho 5-nen (753), June 15.

Tanzuri is an ancient dyeing method in which a pattern is rubbed onto the surface with red clay or Akane Akane.

Ni” means “soil” and usually refers to “red soil,” which was also read as “red” in ancient times. This is because the soil in the Kinki region is mostly red soil, and the color of “tan” is red. As a side note, the Tamba and Tango regions were also the source of tan clay.

There are many color names with “tan” in them, such as “Akani,” derived from redder soil, “Aoni,” derived from blue soil, “Ooni,” the color of the Crown Prince, and “Entan,” a pigment made by baking red soil.

In Japan, red has long been regarded as a special color for “warding off evil spirits, evil luck, and prayers,” and “Ni-iro” was a special color often used for pillars, beams, and torii gates in shrines and temples.

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