Kansei Evaluation of the Color of Cherry Blossoms and Emission of Fireflies: Comparative Study between Japanese and Foreign People

Abstract

We investigated the RGB and XYZ components of the natural colors (two cherry blossoms, i.e., Someiyoshino and Youkou, and the emission of Heike-firefly), and the physiological effects on Japanese and foreign people were compared. The natural colors were digitally measured as RGB colors, and then they were used as color stimuli. The psychological effects were investigated by administering a questionnaire, which was based on the Semantic differential (SD) method. From the results of the questionnaire, the degrees of expression for the natural colors were quite different between Japanese and foreigners. The kansei on the natural colors between Japanese and foreigners were also different in terms of psychophysical quantity and physical cognition. The results of factor analysis showed that the color of Youkou gave pleasantness to Japanese people, whereas the colors of Someiyoshino and firefly gave pleasantness to foreign people.