丹

vermilion; sincerity; mental energy

Kanji 1563

Find out which hues 丹 represents. (It’s complicated!) Learn to use 丹 to discuss great effort and careful work. See how a mineral gave rise to the shape and meaning of our kanji, and find out why the ancient Chinese fatally consumed this mineral in the pursuit of immortality. Also see why the Japanese revere the peony, and read about its connection to mochi, windfalls, and shrimp.  

Revision history:

Nov. 17, 2023: p. 9: I had 牡丹の鉢植え in the caption, but the image doesn't actually contain a の in that phrase. 

Nov. 9, 2023: p. 9: Fixed a broken link.

Sept. 28, 2023:

• p. 1: Added that although vermilion is the color of toriis, the Japanese associate toriis with 赤 or 朱, not with 丹!
• p. 3: Significantly shortened Sidebar 1 to delete the keyword あかい. No Japanese-Japanese dictionaries present a rendering of あかい that contains 丹.

Mar. 27, 2021: Originally published.