The color of the sky, sea, and cosmos….
When understanding the history of indigo blue, since ancient times it has been adored by people all over the world.
Because the color exists in the hard-to-reach places.
And that, there is no plant which itself blue.
Indigo is the name of ingredient turns into indigo blue within some plants.
It is so mysterious that some non-blue plants have such this ingredient in the world of nature.
I love the color, Indigo Blue so much, too.
For us Japanese Indigo Blue is “Ai”. We call the color “Ai”.
I believed that Japanese blue is Ai and Japanese traditional color.
Because we Japanese have a saying regarding “Ai”: Blue dye comes from the indigo plant and is bluer than indigo.
But “Ai”, the color which almost Japanese believe originated in Japan, is “Kara-Ai” imported from China, in Tang era. (Tang is To or Kara in Japanese.)
True “Ai” ,which originated in Japan exists before the import, gave place to “Kara-Ai” due to marketing at that time. (“Kara-Ai” started to be called “Ai” from Edo period.)
Japan might had been International unexpectedly in ancient times.
(For your information, “Hokusai Blue”, the color Katsushika Hokusai mainly used was originated in Berlin, and its pigment was the same with Prussian blue.)
I learned later that these above things at the first workshop held at Art Biotop in Nasu, Tochigi prefecture(,Japan).
The workshop brought me precious experience as eye-opener.
There are so many kinds of “Indigo Blue”.
Recently mainly used dyestuff for “Indigo Blue” is made from petroleum oil.
As I referred above, “Indigo” indicates ingredient of polygonaceae plants include.
There are so many polygonaceae plants and various types of “Indigo Blue” due to what kind of the plants.
“Indigo” ingredient itself is not blue.
But when it exposed to air, it turned into “Indigo Blue”.
I tried to dye rope belt of my room wear with “Indigo”.
After dyed ,it turned into such like “Indigo Blue”color from beige white.
At this time I used the dyestuff, ≪Indigo Indien≫.
These leaves are “Pastel”, one of the plants of the ingredient, grown in the ground of Art Biotop.
The plant-based “Indigo” ingredient have antibacterial effect.
So ancient people applied the dyed side over the surface of skin.
But present “Indigo” dyestuff made from petroleum oil has no effect such above.
In the future they will hold the workshop. If you’re interested in, please check their site.
Art Biotop Nasu
https://www.artbiotop.jp/
