What is in the "Red Color Palettes" collection?

Red Color Palettes is a curated collection of 24 historical color palettes from Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933). Crimson, vermilion, madder — the most historically loaded pigments in Japan.

Can I embed or share the "Red 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 "Red 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

Red Color Palettes

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

Editorial curation by colorcombinations.org. 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. Palettes are grouped by thematic resonance — mood, era, or visual language — not algorithmic similarity.

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.

Embed this collection

Drop a preview of this collection into any blog post, Notion page, or design review. Each palette links back to its full detail page.

<iframe src="https://colorcombinations.org/embed/collection/red/" width="560" height="320" frameborder="0" style="border-radius:8px;overflow:hidden;" title="Red Color Palettes — colorcombinations.org"></iframe>

Preview

From the editorial · Long read

The Four Reds: Kurenai, Akane, Shu, Entan

Why Japanese tradition distinguishes safflower crimson from madder from vermilion from lead red — and which to reach for when the brief asks for 'a Japanese red.'

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.

Red Color Palettes

Share this collection

Crimson & Navy— 紅と紺

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

Crimson Lake & Pine— 臙脂と松葉

Vermillion, Black, Gold— 朱・黒・金

Madder Red & Evergreen— 茜と常磐

Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱

Grenadine Pink & Deep Indigo

Spinel Red & Naples Yellow

Vandyke Red & Pale King's Blue

Eugenia Red | B & Sea Green

Fawn & Dusky Madder Violet

Grenadine Pink & Sea Green

Etruscan Red & Nile Blue

Corinthian Pink & Slate Color

Madder Brown & Deep Indigo

Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray

Red Orange & Pale Lemon Yellow

Eosine Pink & Neutral Gray

Light Brown Drab & Carmine Red

Brick Red & Red Violet

Carmine & Helvetia Blue

Corinthian Pink & Aconite Violet

Etruscan Red & Grayish Lavender - B

Carmine Red & Blue

Embed this collection

The Four Reds: Kurenai, Akane, Shu, Entan

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