Edo-murasaki

A purple that was popular in the Edo period, dyed with purple gromwell, which was regarded as a famous plant of Edo and Musashino. It became widely known among ordinary people as the color of the headband worn by Sukeroku, one of the Kabuki Juhachiban (Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays). There is a saying, "An Edo-murasaki headband, and hair set in the namajime style." In a kyoka (comic poem) by Shokusanjin, "salmon, bonito, daimyo residences, sardines, bikuni nuns, purple, winter leeks (nebuka), and daikon radishes" are named as the specialties of Edo. It was also called Ima-murasaki, in contrast to Kodai-murasaki, which was popular at the time.