Japanese Color Atlas日本色譜CHROMA CATHAY · JAPANESE COLOR ATLASSUB-ATLAS Nº 03 / KASANE NO IROME26 PAIRINGS · 4 SEASONS
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SUB-ATLAS Nº 03Layered court robes · Heian era
Kasane no irome
Before there were hexes, there were robes. Heian-period women layered up to twelve silks; what you read as a single “color name” was actually the edge of two — outer silk over inner silk, seen at the sleeve.
襲26 PAIRINGS · 4 SEASONSafter Genji-e & Yūsoku records
02The pairings · 二十六色目
SHOWING 8 / 26 →“white over red — petals against sky”
“deep crimson over pale pink — plum branch”
“kerria yellow over red — riverbank flowers”
“spring green over red — new shoots”
“pine green over purple — winter pine”
“purple over pale lilac — ripe grape”
“decayed brown over dark red — late autumn”
“white over moss — snow over moss”
03Why a pair, not a single name?
Because the Heian eye saw the relationship. A single bolt of silk had a color. A robe — twelve silks layered, sleeves trailing across the floor — had a season.
04Companion sub-atlases