Collection · 24 palettes

Red Color Palettes

Crimson, vermilion, madder — the most historically loaded pigments in Japan.

Red is the most charged color in Japanese tradition. Kurenai (crimson) is the color of formal ceremony; entan (lead red) is the mineral pigment of ancient temples; akane (madder) is the organic dye worn by courtiers for a thousand years; shu (vermilion) is the lacquer of Shinto gates. Wada's catalog returns to red again and again because it is unavoidable — not aggressive, but authoritative. These palettes are for heritage brands, editorial mastheads, restaurant identities, and anywhere that needs conviction without cliché.

Heian era

Crimson & Navy— 紅と紺

Deep safflower crimson against navy — the courtly contrast of Heian-era robes and formal Edo textiles.

Kamakura era

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

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

Edo era

Crimson Lake & Pine— 臙脂と松葉

The deep lake crimson of cochineal against pine needle green — winter evergreen.

Kamakura era

Vermillion, Black, Gold— 朱・黒・金

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

Edo era

Madder Red & Evergreen— 茜と常磐

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

Edo era

Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱

The faded blue of Shinsengumi jackets against shrine-gate vermillion — restrained power.

Showa era

Grenadine Pink & Deep Indigo

Plate 6 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Grenadine Pink, Deep Indigo.

Showa era

Spinel Red & Naples Yellow

Plate 14 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Spinel Red, Naples Yellow.

Showa era

Vandyke Red & Pale King's Blue

Plate 16 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vandyke Red, Pale King's Blue.

Showa era

Eugenia Red | B & Sea Green

Plate 17 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eugenia Red | B, Sea Green.

Showa era

Fawn & Dusky Madder Violet

Plate 18 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Fawn, Dusky Madder Violet.

Showa era

Grenadine Pink & Sea Green

Plate 21 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Grenadine Pink, Sea Green.

Showa era

Etruscan Red & Nile Blue

Plate 25 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Etruscan Red, Nile Blue.

Showa era

Corinthian Pink & Slate Color

Plate 27 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Corinthian Pink, Slate Color.

Showa era

Madder Brown & Deep Indigo

Plate 28 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Madder Brown, Deep Indigo.

Showa era

Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray

Plate 30 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pompeian Red, Mineral Gray.

Showa era

Red Orange & Pale Lemon Yellow

Plate 31 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Red Orange, Pale Lemon Yellow.

Showa era

Eosine Pink & Neutral Gray

Plate 34 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eosine Pink, Neutral Gray.

Showa era

Light Brown Drab & Carmine Red

Plate 35 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Brown Drab, Carmine Red.

Showa era

Brick Red & Red Violet

Plate 37 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brick Red, Red Violet.

Showa era

Carmine & Helvetia Blue

Plate 39 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Carmine, Helvetia Blue.

Showa era

Corinthian Pink & Aconite Violet

Plate 43 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Corinthian Pink, Aconite Violet.

Showa era

Etruscan Red & Grayish Lavender - B

Plate 47 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Etruscan Red, Grayish Lavender - B.

Showa era

Carmine Red & Blue

Plate 51 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Carmine Red, 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

See what's inside

Launching soon. The free archive stays free, always.