Beni-iro

A vivid red dyed with safflower, used for lipstick and as a dye for clothing. In the past, safflower dye was also called "ai" (dye), and it was called kurenai (from kure-ai), meaning the dye brought from the kingdom of Wu in China. Because good-quality dye is obtained by diligently picking the outer petals of flowers that have just begun to bloom, the name "suetsumuhana" also arose. In the Heian period, it was prohibited as a noble color that was expensive and hard to obtain.