Purple has emerged as a special color in many different parts of the world.

One reason is that producing purple was once exceptionally difficult.

In the ancient Mediterranean world, purple dye was made from sea snails. The process was extremely labor-intensive, making the dye highly expensive.

In the 19th century, the discovery of the synthetic dye mauveine in 1856 brought purple into people’s lives in a new way, making it possible to produce shades of purple that had previously been difficult to achieve using natural materials.

In Japan, purple root dyeing, known as shikon-zome, has long been practiced using the roots of the murasaki plant. The Man’yōshū also contains poems about the plant and garments dyed with its roots.

Drawing color little by little from the roots of a plant — this process reflects the time and human craftsmanship required to bring beautiful colors out of nature.

In distant parts of the world, people developed their own ways of producing purple. Yet behind these different traditions lies a shared sensibility.

Rarity. A color of depth and complexity.

And a color created through the work of human hands over long periods of time.

It is this accumulation of history and craftsmanship that has given purple its distinctive beauty.