The color is one of the Japanese traditional colors that has been in use since 660 CE in the form of various dyes used in designing kimono.Nagasaki, Seiki. Nihon no dentoshoku : sono shikimei to shikicho, Seigensha, 2001. Nihon Shikisai Gakkai. Shinpen shikisai kagaku handobukku, Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1985.
The name comes from the Japanese for the colour of a type of kelp tea, but the word was often used as a synonym for a form of flatteryNagasaki, Seiki. Nihon no dentoshoku : sono shikimei to shikicho, Seigensha, 2001. Nihon Shikisai Gakkai. Shinpen shikisai kagaku handobukku, Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1985. in a curious parallel with the English usage brown nosing.
References
See also List of colors