The Thing About Green And Blue…
“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.” - Unknown
One thing you should know about Japanese colors is that they’re a little bit different from what a lot of people are used to. Some other cultures have similar views on what’s what on the color wheel, but for the most part, this will catch you off guard if you don’t know about it beforehand.
For a long time (and even now, to a certain extent), there was only “blue.” Sure, green existed out in the world, but it was just considered to be a shade of blue. It wasn’t until the Heian Period in Japan (794-1185) that みどり started appearing. Still, this was just considered a shade of blue. After World War II (along with the occupation by a country that distinguished green and blue), though, green started getting separated as its own color. Keep in mind WWII wasn’t that long ago, meaning you’ll still see plenty of “green” things being called “blue.”
For example, in Japan right now, trees are considered あお. Other things, such as apples and various vegetables are also あお. The most interesting “blue” thing out there is probably the traffic light. A “green light” is a “blue light” in Japanese. It looks the same (aka it’s green) but it’s referred to as being あお (i.e. an あおしんご).
So, if you ever hear someone saying that something green is blue, don’t try to correct them… maybe you’re the one who’s wrong! ;)
Alright, back to work. Make sure you know all your vocab before moving on!