Snow White and Blood Red

        It seems that the colors of white and red have been used in many instances to signify opposites: the Disney movie Snow White, for example, represents purity and innocence. When the evil queen disguised as an old woman gives her a blood red apple, Snow White is compromised by the poison inside and falls into a coma. Another example is in the story, Snow Country. Shimamura often noted that Komako's kimono was deep red on the inside, a contrasting color to her pale white skin. He also sees beauty in her scrubbed, flushed skin after she removes her powdered makeup.
        In Japanese culture, I found information on a symbiotic relationship between the colors "red" and "white." Even though the colors are opposites in many ways, they share some common symbolism. The following is from a website about color symbolism:
        According to Henry Dreyfus, the word for red and white, Kohaku, is pronounced as one word in Japanese. Ko means red, while haku translates as white. Their use together immediately signifies happiness and celebration to the Japanese viewer. The combination of red and white in the decorative ornaments used on wedding or engagement presents -noshi or kaishi- has a compelling quality that suggests man's urge to create a bond between his own life and that of the gods.  Red and white are also the colors of the uniforms that shrine maidens wear (denoting these colors divine nature.)
Red and white are the colors of the Japanese flag; the red signifies the sun.
As shown here, together the colors share important symbolism. In the story, Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari, there are many images of white and red reflected together. While some hold obvious emotions of beauty or love, Yasunari also gives the reader room to reflect on the meaning of some examples. The author spends a majority of the novel pointing out contrasts between the burgundy autumn leaves and the crisp white snow, the rising and setting of the colorful sun against the snow-covered mountains, and other scenic images containing the colors white and red. Near the end of the novel when Komako and Shimamura run to the fire, Shimamura is startled when he saw the clear white Milky Way. As they ran towards the fire, he could "feel the red over the starlit." In this way, he ties together the characters of Yoko and Komako with the red and white images. Yoko is steady and blends into the background, much like the simple white, while Komako is loud, conflicted, and passionate like the emotional color, red. As they race to the fire where Yoko has perished, Yasunari is connecting the identities of Yoko and Komako by having Komako bathed in the white light of the Milky Way and the quiet Yoko killed in a fiery red and traumatic accident.
        Amidst all of the images of red and white, Yasunari demonstrates that despite their clashes and differences, like Komako and Yoko in Snow Country, the colors are symbiotic and can fit together happily.

This is an image of a kohaku koi fish, a representation of the stark red and white constrasts.