Samurai's beloved blue—Awa's indigo dyeing

(Utagawa Kuyoshi "Musashi Miyamoto")

History of indigo dyeing

Tokushima Prefecture is Japan's largest producer of indigo. Since the Warring States period, samurai have loved dyes for their beauty and practicality. Even now, I continue to live in Japan. During the Asuka and Heian periods, people liked brightly colored kimonos. In the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, the so-called Sengoku era, samurai's tastes came to be reflected. In particular, ``brown (an indigo color close to black)'' was highly popular as it was associated with ``Katsuiro''. In addition, indigo is said to increase the strength of the fabric, prevent insects from sticking to it, and has a bactericidal effect, so it seems that it was often worn as underwear for armor.

Current indigo dyeing

The Japanese national team has worn blue uniforms throughout most of the era since the 1930s. Then why is the uniform of the Japanese national team "blue"?

The team color of the Japan national soccer team is blue, as it is affectionately known as SAMURAI BLUE. Although the design of the uniform may change, the base color of blue remains the same. The eye-catching blue color expresses the history of Japanese football and the feelings of the Japanese people.