I’m not sure why, but my logs contain many people coming to my page with search string along the lines of ’shinto colors’ and ‘what colors are associated with shinto’ They end up on my pages because my page on Shinto/Japanese mythological creatures has a description one such creature that includes the word color while discussing what colors the creature comes in and because this information isn’t clearly stated anywhere I found on the Internet.

Reading a number of pages my first cut at the answer seems to be that the colors red and white are associated with Shinto.

The red, or as someone capable of making finer color distinctions than I put it, Vermillion red-orange is the color of many torii. White is the color of spirits and often the kami are described as being dressed in white. There are suggestions that the colors are gendered, but I could not find which is male and which is female. My instinct is that red is male, but that could simply be western bias.

It is possible that the red is associated with Inari and not Shinto as a whole.

A good luck symbol associated with Shinto is the Maneke Neko, which is a beckoning cat found in homes and businesses throughout Japan. The Maneke Neko is expected to to bring prosperity , however she comes in a variety of colors and some of these colors have further meanings; black protects against evil, red protects against illness. There are modern versions with even more meanings; gold for money, pink for love, etc.

Those are the only connections I could find that are directly correlated with Shintoism. Related, possible directly, is the fact that the Japanese associate white with death. Some pages also suggested that red and white are an auspicious color combination and is common at weddings. Black and white are common at funerals, but it isn’t clear if this is an old association or a new one that came with exposure to the west.

There are two possibilities that people are actually searching for things not related Japanese/Shinto mythology. There are a series of colors of stage makeup referred to as Shinto. I know nothing about this subject but they appear to be a foundation layer used by professional makeup artists. They appear to be associated with the company (I think) RCMA. They unsurprisingly are used to create Japanese skin tones.

There are also a few color palettes referred to by the name shinto. It was unclear to me in what context these palettes live.

If I find more I will update. If you know more or can point me to a reference please send that information along.