What does yellow mean in japanese culture?

Question:

I would be very interested to know what does yellow signifie in japanese culture.

Answer:

Yellow has several meaning in Japan, but not all of it is purely of Japanese cultural origin and for the most part only the older generation understand or remember. The younger Japanese are mostly ignorant of any cultural meaning of the color yellow.

1) Strangely, the color yellow symbolizes courage. Unlike western culture where it symbolizes cowardice.

2) At one time, the Japanese emperor's guard would wear something yellow such as a yellow chrysanthemum in reference to their status as imperial guards.

3) Yellow to some who are Buddhist, is a sacred color. The Buddhist monks in Asia typically wear yellow, but for some reason not as many in Japan.

4) A lesser known meaning of yellow in Japan is "happiness" or "cheerfulness". There was an old popular movie entitled, "Happy Yellow Handkerchiefs".