藍

indigo

Kanji 2130

Indigo became important in Japan partly because commoners couldn’t wear silk and instead chose cotton. Farmers’ indigo work togs shaped the creative inclinations of a contemporary dyer who loves to wrestle with indigo’s “persona.” A term for “temple” is inside a word for “pelican,” just as “cabbage” lies inside “kale” and “brussels sprouts.” The essay unravels all of these mysteries.

Revision note:

Oct. 13, 2023: p. 7 caption: Fixed a formatting problem.

Aug. 11, 2023: p. 1: Deleted a stray period.

Apr. 17, 2020: Originally published.