This article focuses on traditional Japanese color terms and is an inquiry into the color`purple' and related color terms as used in Japan. Although purple is an intermediate color, it has held an important meaning in Japan since ancient times, and traditionally unique names were assigned to each variation of the color purple. In this thesis, 35 traditional colors classified as variations of purple were selected, and research was done to determine how present day Japanese people would describe these colors.The results of this research have revealed that the traditional Japanese categorization of these colors differs from the way in which present day Japanese categorize these colors. Even colors which at one time were clearly identified and classified together are now described in a variety of differing terms by modern Japanese people and are no longer recognized as unique colors in their own right. Additionally, color tones which were considered bright in ancient times tend to be described as darker colors by present-day people.

Furthermore, an inquiry was also made into the difference between color categorization in Japanese and English by comparing traditional Japanese color terms with English color terms.Among these, the terms `purple' and `violet,' which are frequently confused when translated into Japanese, were analyzed by way of a survey presented to English speakers. From the results of this survey, English speakers used the term `purple' to describe colors in the range traditionally referred to as `murasaki' (purple) to `aka-murasaki' (reddish purple) in Japanese, while the term `violet' was used by English speakers to describe the color traditionally referred to as `usui murasaki' (light purple) in Japanese, which is in contrast to violet's definition as `sumire-iro' or `aomigakatta murasaki' in dictionaries and various literary sources. Although Japan's traditional color terms are falling out of use due to the growth of civilization and the influence of foreign cultures, by inquiring into the color known as `murasaki' (purple) from a variety of angles, I believe a definition of and an understanding of this color can be reached systematically.