The article describes a historic Japanese green pigment which was identified in a painting attributed to the Kano school, dating to the Edo period. According to literature, malachite – which is the common translation of the Japanese term rokushō – has been the most widely used green pigment in Japan over a long period of time. Its colour shade could be modified by the use of different degrees of grinding and by heating the pigment. The green paint layer found in the painting was examined using XRF, SEM-EDS and XRPD, and cross sections. Examinations revealed a heterogeneous paint layer which consists of a mixture of various natural copper-containing minerals, some of which also contain arsenic and other elements. A concluding discussion of pigment nomenclature in Japan raises the question if rokushō may in fact be equated with pure malachite.

中文翻译：

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松针和夜莺的颜色。日本传统的铜基绿色颜料

这篇文章描述了一种历史悠久的日本绿色颜料，这种颜料是在可追溯到江户时代的卡诺画派的一幅画中发现的。根据文献，孔雀石是日语中rokushō的通用译名，长期以来一直是日本使用最广泛的绿色颜料。可以通过使用不同程度的研磨和加热颜料来改变其色泽。使用XRF，SEM-EDS和XRPD和横截面检查了绘画中发现的绿色油漆层。检查发现涂料层不均匀，由各种天然含铜矿物质的混合物组成，其中一些还含有砷和其他元素。在日本对颜料命名法的最后讨论提出了一个问题，即rokushō是否实际上可以等同于纯孔雀石。