STEM ≥ colors of progress?
HISTORY OF TECHNOLGOY = COLORS OF PROGRESS?
After 1860, Japan opened its doors to Western imports, and "new" analine dye colors became available for use. -- see "150-Year-Old Woodblock Prints Keep Japanese History Alive in New York" (Mike Steyels). Vice. October 19, 2016. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvwa87/150-year-old-japanese-prints-ronin-gallery; see "new" red and purple colors in the 1888 woodblock print below
A descriptive label for these "new" colors was "kakushin no iro" (革新の色) or "colors of progress." -- see "Aniline Dyes in Meiji Nishiki-e
Toyohara Kunichika (John Fiorillo) https://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net/texts/topics_faq/anilinedyes.html;
Google's online translation of the phrase is successful enough -- the Japanese to English meaning is not unclear:
革新の = innovative
色 = color
COLORS OF PROGRESS. I think the English phrase "colors of progress" works better. But I've only seen the phrase two or three times, so I don't know how to assess it. Has the use of this phrase become a convention? Maybe not.
The difference between "innovative color" and "colors of progress" could be like the difference between "litharge" and "massicot." -- see CAMEO (Conservation and At Materials Online), "Litharge" http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Litharge
Or "colors of progress" may be a kind of history trope I just don't recognize yet.
Words matter, but this is is not a STEM topic. Or is it?
The focus on color and an awareness of seasonal change is not an uncommon topic in Japan. -- see "Autumn Reds and Yellows: Japan’s 2019 Foliage Forecast"
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00550/autumn-reds-and-yellows-japan%E2%80%99s-2019-foliage-forecast.html
QUESTION: Without knowing more, does it matter how this late-19th century Japanese phrase is translated into English or any other language?
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QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?