Bingata is a dyeing technique developed in Okinawa that applies bright multicolored patterns with paper stencils and a freehand past-resist dyeing method. Bingata-dyed fabrics are characterized by their strong distinctive patterns which developed under the influence of the seafaring trade conducted between China, Southeast Asia, and Japan from the 14th or 15th century. Yellow (Garcinia spicata Hook),red (Dioscorea rhipogonoides, Oliv.), dark red (Laccifer lacca Kerr) and indigo (Strobiranthes cusia O.Kuntze) dyes, and ocher, Bengal red, art ultramarine, and cinnabar pigments are used to create a sharp color contrast against a white ground. During the Sho Dynasty, there were rules concerning clothing. For example, bingata-dyed fabric was worn exclusively by the warrior class or people of a higher social standing, and yellow and large-patterned fabrics were worn only by aristocrats.