Collection · 24 palettes

Interior Design Color Palettes

Colors that live well in rooms — drawn from a tradition built for architecture.

Japanese architecture has always had an intimate relationship with color. The vermilion of shrine torii. The warm grey of natural wood. The warm earth of clay walls. The deep green of moss against stone. Wada's catalog includes dozens of combinations directly descended from these architectural traditions — not as historical curiosities but as working color relationships. The palettes here are the ones that transfer to paint, fabric, tile, and natural material most naturally: the earthy warm neutrals, the cool grey-blues of stone and water, the restrained earth tones of a room designed for longevity rather than trend.

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.

Muromachi era

Celadon & Unbleached— 青磁と生成

Celadon pottery green beside the unbleached warmth of raw silk.

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.

Muromachi era

Matcha & Raw Silk— 抹茶と生成

Whisked matcha green against the color of raw silk — the still life of a tea bowl.

Heian era

Ao & White— 青と白

The classical Japanese 'ao' — an ambiguous blue-green — against pure white.

Edo era

Madder Red & Evergreen— 茜と常磐

The rooted red of madder-dyed cotton set against enduring pine green.

Kamakura era

Spring Green & Ink— 萌黄と墨

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

Edo era

Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗

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

Heian era

Valerian Yellow & Pale Blue— 女郎花と浅葱

The yellow of autumn valerian against late-summer sky.

Edo era

Turmeric & Indigo— 鬱金と藍

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

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

Isabella Color & Red Violet

Plate 4 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Isabella Color, Red Violet.

Showa era

Ivory Buff & Mineral Gray

Plate 11 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, Mineral Gray.

Showa era

Isabella Color & Green Blue

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

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

Dark Citrine & Calamine BLue

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

Showa era

Yellow Ocher & Violet

Plate 42 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow Ocher, Violet.

Showa era

Ivory Buff & Dusky Madder Violet

Plate 50 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, Dusky Madder Violet.

Showa era

Sulpher Yellow & Black

Plate 52 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulpher Yellow, Black.

Showa era

Yellow Orange & Dusky Madder Violet

Plate 53 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow Orange, Dusky Madder Violet.

Showa era

Grayish Lavender - B & Violet

Plate 56 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Grayish Lavender - B, Violet.

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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