14 Natural Dyes


BEGUILING BENI Safflower Red in Japan


WATCH


In Search of Forgotten Colours featuring


Sachio Yoshioka, the


fifth-generation head of the Somenotsukasa


Yoshioka dye workshop in Fushimi, southern Kyoto, Japan


The main area for growing benibana (safflowers) is Yamagata Prefecture


Coloured child’s kimono late 19th-early 20th century, hemp, dyed with beni (safflower), 86.04 × 87 cm, Minneapolis Institute of Art


Kuchi-beni, Painting the Lips by Utamaro, Kitagawa (1753-1806), woodblock print, ukiyo-e, 36.3 x 24.8 cm, New York Public Library


Te use of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) in Japanese culture has a long and rich history. From early times, it is has been referred to in songs and poems, used to dye textiles, and chosen to colour woodblock prints. Originating in the Middle East, the safflower (benibana in Japanese) spread into India and later along the Silk Road into China. It was from China that the safflower is thought to have entered Japan between the 2nd to 5th centuries;


and was widely


cultivated in Asia and Europe by the 13th century. In Japanese legends and poems, it is referred to by such names as kurenai and suetsumu-hana – the former is a shortening of kure-no-ai, the indigo plant known in the Wu dynasty (222-280), indicating that it probably entered Japan at this time. Te earliest use of the safflower


dye in Japan was first seen in Nara period (710-784) in Heijokyo, the ancient capital, as it was mentioned in


the Manyoshu (the oldest


anthology of Japanese poems, written between 600 to 759), as well as being used in works of art for the Nara court featuring Chinese motifs of flower and birds. Tese objects are preserved in the Shosoin in Todaiji temple. It was also used widely by the


ladies of the Heian court (794- 1185) as a rouge and lipstick, but the real height of popularity for the dye in Japan was not seen until the late 18th and 19th centuries during the Edo period (1603-1868), with its explosion of fashion, art, and culture.


ASIAN ART | NOVEMBER 2022 | With the development of chemical


dyes in the Meiji period, the demand for all natural dyes declined. Red from safflower is still used today in cosmetics and textiles, but to a much lesser extent. Today, Yamagata prefecture, in northern Japan, is the region where most safflower cultivation now takes place. Te fresh orange/ yellow petals are made into patties (beni-mochi) and oxidise to a deep red.


Tey were historically


transported to Kyoto to be made into rouge or used for dyeing textiles in this form, used in such traditional textiles as beni-itajime shibori. Recently, there has been renewed interest in benibana, not only as a natural dye for textiles and cosmetics, but also in traditional medicine for blood circulation. Te florets of safflower create a


wide range of hues – from the first pressing that produces yellow, to the second pressing that produces a cherry red to pink. Te plant is a tender annual with spiny leaves and composite flower heads containing the many yellow to orange disk petals. Once the beni-mochi are crushed into a paste, it is washed with water to remove the non- lightfast


yellow chromophores


(molecules). Te red colourant, primarily carthamin, is then extracted in an alkaline bath. Te deepest reds are only obtained through several initial washings to remove all of the water-soluble yellows. Since the Heian period, fabrics


dyed with safflower red have been worn close to the skin to evoke physical healing power.


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The use of beni in Japanese culture has a long history


creation of textiles and clothes over centuries,


has


As an important dye used in the safflower


been


recorded in the textiles stores in the Shosoin in Nara, which have survived from the 8th century. A scientific study conducted on these Nara textiles discovered that they have


the oldest scientifically


confirmed presence of safflower red on historic textiles. Te Shosoin examples chosen for research included the red carpet laid inside the workshop hall at the Todaiji Temple in Nara, used for the inauguration of the statue of the Great Buddha in the temple in 752; a red undergarment and a gown with a tie-dyed design worn by craftsmen in the Todaiji Temple; and embroidered shoes belonging to Empress Komyo (701-760). Comparison of the spectra to documented references identified that safflower red was found in the red or orange areas of the textiles. Court women during the Heian


period wore a complicated costume with 10, 12, 15 or even 20 layers of garments at a time, called juni-hito (12 layers). Te layered colour palette would have included safflower-dyed fabrics that would have symbolised many things, with colours linked to the


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seasons, compass directions, virtues, as well as showing a connection to the guardian spirits of nature (kami). In the later Edo period and into the Meiji period, an under layer (shitagi) was worn under


the top layer (uwagi) –


together this set of garments was called kasane. Tis was made up of two or three layers with most of the shitagi hidden from view. Visible outer red layers (made with natural and or chemical dyes) were worn by women in their youth, but after marriage these shades of red appear only in undergarments and can be seen to symbolise a ‘hidden’ affirmation of life Safflower was used for colour in


printing, too. From the 1740s to about 1765, the first block printed colours in Japanese prints appeared to create simple two- or three- colour images. Called benizuri-e (crimson printed pictures), they are an early type of ukiyo-e that were usually printed in red (beni), blue, or yellow, occasionally with the addition of another colour, either printed or added by hand. Sometimes these colours were over-printed to create the secondary colours purple, orange, and green. From 1765 onwards, the skills required to use the kento registration


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system reached a level where several colour blocks could be expertly


printed and full-


colour nishiki-e or ‘brocade prints’ such as those designed by Suzuki Harunobu (1725–1770) became the standard. Examples of beni colouring used in prints include Actor Ichikawa Danzo III as Adachi Hachiro from 1762 by Torii Kiyomitsu I (1735-1785) and Actors Matsumoto Koshiro IV as Ukita Sakingo and Sawamura Sojuro III as the Ghost of Takao by Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815). Te colour red has been


fashionable in beautification rituals for centuries. In this application, it has been considered a rare and precious colour for centuries and was used sparingly on the lips and cheeks. Both the 8th-century Kojiki


(Records of Ancient


Matters) an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, and semi-historical


accounts and


anecdotes and the Nihon Shoki (Chronicle of Japanese History) reveal that even in ancient times, it was documented that specific beauty customs of painting the face with red pigments, were already in existence. Besides being used as lipstick and blusher, the colour red was


sometimes also used to DOWNLOAD


pdf on Evidence of Safflower Red on Ancient Japanese Textiles Stored


in the Shosoin by Rikiya Nakamura, et al


Surihaku, noh costume, 1775-1825, silk, warp-float faced 7:1 satin weave patterned with impressed gold leaf, lined with silk, plain weave, dyed with beni (safflower), 173.1 × 137.2cm, purchased with funds provided by Robert Allerton Art Institute of Chicago


Beni-mochi ‘patties’ ready to be used in the dyeing process


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