Black in Other Cultures
- In Japanese culture, kuro (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and experience, as opposed to shiro (white), which symbolizes serfdom, youth, and naiveté. Thus the black belt is a mark of achievement and seniority in many martial arts, whereas a white belt is worn by a novice. In Japanese culture, black is also associated with honor.
- In Japan, white, not black, is associated with death, and is the color of mourning.
- In ancient China, black was the symbol of North and Water, one of the main five colors.
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Famous quotes containing the words black and/or cultures:
“Yet I experienced sometimes that the most sweet and tender, the most innocent and encouraging society may be found in any natural object, even for the poor misanthrope and most melancholy man. There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of nature and has his senses still.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties; it accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)