What is in the "Autumn Color Palettes" collection?

Autumn Color Palettes is a curated collection of 24 historical color palettes from Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933). Fallen leaves, persimmons, burnt umber, late harvest.

Can I embed or share the "Autumn Color Palettes" collection?

Yes. Use the embed iframe (560×320) shown on the page for blogs, Notion pages, or design reviews. Each embedded palette links back to its full detail page. Share image (1200×630) auto-generated per collection. License: CC BY 4.0.

Where does the "Autumn Color Palettes" source material come from?

Source: Sanzo Wada, "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). The Wada catalog is in the public domain. Curation, descriptions, and groupings here are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

Collection · 24 palettes

Autumn Color Palettes

Q: How was the "Autumn Color Palettes" collection curated?

Editorial curation by colorcombinations.org. The palette of autumn in Japanese tradition isn't red-orange-yellow — it's the quiet layering of kaki (persimmon), kogecha (burnt tea), tobi (kite brown), and kuri (chestnut). These combinations work for wine brands, fall fashion, harvest packaging, restaurant programs, and any project that needs warmth without veering into Thanksgiving cliché. Palettes are grouped by thematic resonance — mood, era, or visual language — not algorithmic similarity.

Fallen leaves, persimmons, burnt umber, late harvest.

The palette of autumn in Japanese tradition isn't red-orange-yellow — it's the quiet layering of kaki (persimmon), kogecha (burnt tea), tobi (kite brown), and kuri (chestnut). These combinations work for wine brands, fall fashion, harvest packaging, restaurant programs, and any project that needs warmth without veering into Thanksgiving cliché.

Edo era

Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶

Autumn persimmon against scorched cedar — harvest colors from the countryside.

Muromachi era

Scorched Brown & Unbleached— 焦茶と生成

The dark brown of scorched wood against unbleached hemp — quiet materials.

Edo era

Kite Brown & Gold— 鳶と黄金

The warm brown of a kite's wing lit by afternoon gold.

Edo era

Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗

The bright gold of the kerria flower against the warm brown of roasted chestnut.

Edo era

Light Pink & Tea— 薄紅と茶

A whisper of pink against tea brown — the tone of an Edo-period lacquer sweet box.

Edo era

Turmeric & Indigo— 鬱金と藍

Warm turmeric yellow against true indigo — the everyday textile of Japanese farm life.

Kamakura era

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

The dense orange-red of lead oxide pigment struck against ink black.

Muromachi era

Grass Yellow & Rikyū Grey— 刈安と利休鼠

Wild grass yellow tempered by the muted grey favored by the tea master Sen no Rikyū.

Edo era

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

The sharp orange of the daidai citrus set off by deep indigo navy.

Showa era

English Red & Cerulian Blue

Plate 1 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — English Red, Cerulian Blue.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Pale Lemon Yellow

Plate 3 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Pale Lemon Yellow.

Showa era

Orange & Glaucous Green

Plate 7 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Orange, Glaucous Green.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Grayish Lavender - A

Plate 8 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Grayish Lavender - A.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Dark Citrine

Plate 10 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Dark Citrine.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Veronia Purple

Plate 13 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Veronia Purple.

Showa era

Mars Brown Tobacco & Night Green

Plate 19 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Mars Brown Tobacco, Night Green.

Showa era

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve

Plate 23 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Buff, Light Mauve.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Pale Raw Umber

Plate 26 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Pale Raw Umber.

Showa era

Ochraceous Salmon & Night Green

Plate 32 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ochraceous Salmon, Night Green.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Slate Color

Plate 33 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Slate Color.

Showa era

Vinaceous Tawny & Citron Yellow

Plate 40 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vinaceous Tawny, Citron Yellow.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Lemon Yellow

Plate 45 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Lemon Yellow.

Showa era

Orange & Black

Plate 46 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Orange, Black.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Lincoln Green

Plate 70 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Lincoln Green.

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From the editorial · Long read

Heian Court Color Theory: Kasane, Kinjiki, and the Seasonal Palette

How the Heian imperial court systematised colour into layered-robe combinations (kasane no irome), forbidden pigments (kinjiki), and a 12-month seasonal calendar.

Read the article →

From the archive

Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.

All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
Figma design tokens (W3C-spec JSON, drag into any file)
Tailwind v4 + v3 configs — drop into any project
CSS custom properties — every plate, one stylesheet
378 museum SVG plates — print-ready at any size
Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues

See what's inside

Launching soon. The free archive stays free, always.

Library

Colour books worth owning

The theory and reference behind palettes like this — recommended on Amazon.

Kassia St. Clair

The Secret Lives of Color

Penguin, 2017.

Seventy-five individual colors, each with a short history. Reads like a cabinet of curiosities.

View on Amazon
Victoria Finlay

Color: A Natural History of the Palette

Random House, 2004.

Investigative travelogue through dye sources — indigo farms, lapis mines, safflower fields. The journey of kurenai.

View on Amazon
Stella Paul

Chromaphilia

Phaidon, 2017.

240 artworks organized by color. A visual counterpart to Wada's dictionary.

View on Amazon

Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Autumn Color Palettes

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Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶

Scorched Brown & Unbleached— 焦茶と生成

Kite Brown & Gold— 鳶と黄金

Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗

Light Pink & Tea— 薄紅と茶

Turmeric & Indigo— 鬱金と藍

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

Grass Yellow & Rikyū Grey— 刈安と利休鼠

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

English Red & Cerulian Blue

Raw Sienna & Pale Lemon Yellow

Orange & Glaucous Green

Cinnamon Rufous & Grayish Lavender - A

Cinnamon Rufous & Dark Citrine

Raw Sienna & Veronia Purple

Mars Brown Tobacco & Night Green

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve

Golden Yellow & Pale Raw Umber

Ochraceous Salmon & Night Green

Raw Sienna & Slate Color

Vinaceous Tawny & Citron Yellow

Seashell Pink & Lemon Yellow

Orange & Black

Raw Sienna & Lincoln Green

Embed this collection

Heian Court Color Theory: Kasane, Kinjiki, and the Seasonal Palette

Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.

The Secret Lives of Color

Color: A Natural History of the Palette

Chromaphilia

Looking for a combination we don’t have yet?