Day 7: January 7th
365日にっぽんのいろ図鑑
Time spent: 28 min
Today’s color: 黄支子色 (きくちなしいろ) - a 優しい yellow
The name of this color comes from gardenia - gardenia is more commonly written as 梔子, it seems like, but 支子 also can mean gardenia and can be pronounced the same way (くちなし). The color is made with coloring from gardenia fruits. Today’s mystery is why gardenia fruits are “the fruits that don’t open their mouths” (口を開かない). Rumor has it that this is where the name comes from (because くちなし also equals 口無し). I’m…I don’t understand though. Do other fruits open their mouths when they’re ripe? What is a fruit mouth? I thought maybe it was an expression but google is proving unhelpful at the moment. What does it meaaaannn
Anyway, while I didn't get to the bottom of that, I did learn some other stuff
- 色名 (しきめい) - color name (is this a repeat? I can’t remember)
- 赤黄色 (あかきいろ) - yellow with a tinge of red; orange yellow
- 熟する (じゅくする) - to ripen; to mature
- 称する (しょうする) - to take the name of; to call oneself
- New usage of とか - at the end of a sentence, to mean “I hear that …; people say that…; rumour has it that …”
まいにち暦生活 日本の暮らしを楽しむ365のコツ
Time spent: 8 min
Today’s reading was on 七草粥 (ななくさがゆ), which is rice gruel traditionally eaten on the 7th day of the new year containing the seven plants of spring (七草 [ななくさ]). The 7th day of January is 人日 (じんじつ), one of the 5 annual festivals (五節句 [ごせっく]). Also learned that 松の内 (まつのうち) is a word for New Year’s Week festivities.
What else did I read?
Nothing, I was short on time today 
Glad you mentioned what the seven plants of spring actually were, I was going to look it up because I was interested to know, but I ran out of time. Now I don’t have to! lol
Hey, welcome back! 
Idk if you remember me but I remember you from forever and a half ago lol, hopefully this is not weird 
In any case, glad to have you join us!