The Japanese Edo period (1603–1868) was one of the most peaceful in Japanese history. This led to rice becoming less and less valuable, while wealthy merchants and even commoners were able to accumulate silver and even purchase luxury goods. The problem was that the samurai class still received its remuneration in koku of rice (a koku is about 180.3 liters and weighed around 150 kilograms — the amount of rice considered sufficient to feed an adult for one year). The value of landholdings was assessed by how many koku of rice they could produce. But if rice became cheaper, the samurai class automatically grew poorer. So how could they distinguish themselves from “all these peasants”?
An edict was issued forbidding anyone but samurai from dressing in bright clothing. “You must wear sad colors, so you are allowed only gray, brown, and blue! Oh yes, and you are all forbidden from wearing embroidery on your garments — the outer layer must be plain! That way, you’ll know who is in charge!”
By that time, the Japanese had grown accustomed to foolish laws — constantly being introduced, repealed, reintroduced, and repealed again. So the response came fairly quickly.
Forty-eight shades of blue. Forty-eight shades of brown. Around a hundred shades of gray. Clothes that looked plain from a distance turned out, on closer inspection, to be covered in subtle, finely crafted patterns. Garments plain on the outside were richly decorated on the inside, visible only to those who needed to see and when they needed to see.
And the samurai? Well, the Japanese decided that such leadership was nothing but a hindrance. The era of the Meiji Restoration was approaching.
