Collection · 24 palettes

Grey Color Palettes

Between black and white — where Japanese aesthetics live.

Grey is the color that Japanese aesthetic tradition has thought longest about. 'Nezumi' (鼠 — mouse grey) is a refined mid-grey used in Edo-era textile dyeing. 'Gin' (銀 — silver) is a lighter metallic grey. 'Ai-nezumi' is the blue-grey of indigo-dipped silk. 'Kokushoku' is near-black. These are not the lazy greys of generic branding — they are nuanced, warm or cool, with clear relationships to the other colors in a palette. Wada's combinations built around grey tones read as sophisticated anchors for modern brand systems, editorial layouts, and any palette that needs restraint without coldness.

Edo era

Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠

The cool Edo purple worn by kabuki actors against mouse grey — theatrical understatement.

Heian era

Royal Purple & Silver— 紫と銀

Imperial purple set against lunar silver — Heian courtly luxury at its quietest.

Edo era

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

Mid-grade indigo with the quiet sheen of silver — an understated Edo merchant robe.

Kamakura era

Spring Green & Ink— 萌黄と墨

Young shoot green against sumi ink — the two extremes of the Japanese calligrapher's world.

Kamakura era

Vermillion, Black, Gold— 朱・黒・金

The ceremonial triad of temple lacquerware — vermillion, lacquer black, gold leaf.

Meiji era

Deep Indigo & Cream— 紺と生成

The darkest indigo against unbleached cream — the color of a Meiji schoolboy's uniform.

Showa era

Yellow Orange & Dark Tyrian Blue

Plate 2 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow Orange, Dark Tyrian Blue.

Showa era

Cossack Green & Vandar Poel's Blue

Plate 5 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cossack Green, Vandar Poel's Blue.

Showa era

Isabella Color & Green Blue

Plate 12 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Isabella Color, Green Blue.

Showa era

Benzol Green & Grayish Lavender - A

Plate 15 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Benzol Green, Grayish Lavender - A.

Showa era

Yellow & Deep Lyons Blue

Plate 22 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow, Deep Lyons Blue.

Showa era

Krongbergs Green & Salvia Blue

Plate 29 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Krongbergs Green, Salvia Blue.

Showa era

Sulphine Yellow & Turquoise Green

Plate 36 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Turquoise Green.

Showa era

Diamine Green & Deep Lyons Blue

Plate 38 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Diamine Green, Deep Lyons Blue.

Showa era

Dark Citrine & Calamine BLue

Plate 41 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Dark Citrine, Calamine BLue.

Showa era

Light Porcelain Green & Olympic Blue

Plate 44 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Porcelain Green, Olympic Blue.

Showa era

Rosolanc Purple & Helvetia Blue

Plate 48 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Rosolanc Purple, Helvetia Blue.

Showa era

Pale King's Blue & Blue

Plate 49 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale King's Blue, Blue.

Showa era

Benzol Green & Light Glaucous Blue

Plate 54 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Benzol Green, Light Glaucous Blue.

Showa era

Pale Lemon Yellow & Dark Tyrian Blue

Plate 60 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale Lemon Yellow, Dark Tyrian Blue.

Showa era

Aconite Violet & Dark Soft Violet

Plate 64 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Aconite Violet, Dark Soft Violet.

Showa era

Sulphine Yellow & Calamine BLue

Plate 65 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Calamine BLue.

Showa era

Olive Ocher & Olive Green

Plate 66 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Olive Ocher, Olive Green.

Showa era

Olympic Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

Plate 67 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Olympic Blue, Dark Tyrian Blue.

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

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