Preface

My goal for this compendium was to document all of the blue colors I have seen in the sky thus far. I also wished to create a pragmatic manual to identify the names of the colors I had observed. The results in this publication are a bilingual, visual field guide of 210 shades of blue. I have also included the 48 traditional colors of Japanese indigo, employed as a base color gauge system and reference point. This project arises from an examination of the Japanese term and concept for sky 空, which can be read as sora (sky or heaven) or kū (void or empty in Buddhist metaphysics); one of the 5 elements or godai including earth, water, fire, wind, void. My photographs illustrating the various colors in the sky were taken over a10 year period, between 2013 and 2023. The date, place, and exact observation time have been accurately recorded. The title Aotenjō alludes to the sky as a blue ceiling or no ceiling (wild sky), allegories the heavenly realm, and suggests limitless possibilities. Nikki is a poetic diary. -Miya 美夜 (Beautiful Night) Ando, New York City 2024