What is in the "Summer Color Palettes" collection?

Summer Color Palettes is a curated collection of 24 historical color palettes from Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933). Bright yellows, warm oranges, playful pinks — the colors of light.

Can I embed or share the "Summer 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 "Summer 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

Summer Color Palettes

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

Editorial curation by colorcombinations.org. Summer in the Japanese palette tradition isn't saturated and loud — it's the warmth of late afternoon light, the yellow of yamabuki fields, the orange of a persimmon in full sun. These combinations carry the season's energy without the visual noise of modern neon summer aesthetics. Ideal for food and beverage packaging, resort branding, children's editorial, summer fashion campaigns, and any project that needs vitality and warmth. Palettes are grouped by thematic resonance — mood, era, or visual language — not algorithmic similarity.

Bright yellows, warm oranges, playful pinks — the colors of light.

Summer in the Japanese palette tradition isn't saturated and loud — it's the warmth of late afternoon light, the yellow of yamabuki fields, the orange of a persimmon in full sun. These combinations carry the season's energy without the visual noise of modern neon summer aesthetics. Ideal for food and beverage packaging, resort branding, children's editorial, summer fashion campaigns, and any project that needs vitality and warmth.

Edo era

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

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

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.

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.

Heian era

Pink Dianthus & Water— 撫子と水色

The soft pink of wild dianthus beside the translucent blue of mountain water.

Heian era

Cherry Blossom & Young Bamboo— 桜と若竹

The softest pink of cherry blossoms set beside young bamboo green — spring, captured.

Edo era

Sky Blue & Vermillion— 空と朱

Clear sky blue against shrine-gate vermillion — a New Year morning.

Showa era

Sepia & Veronia Purple

Plate 24 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sepia, Veronia Purple.

Showa era

Ivory Buff & Orange Rufous

Plate 102 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, Orange Rufous.

Showa era

Naples Yellow & Peach Red

Plate 115 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Naples Yellow, Peach Red.

Showa era

Yellow Ocher & Vandyke Brown

Plate 118 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow Ocher, Vandyke Brown.

Showa era

Sulpher Yellow & Golden Yellow +1

Plate 132 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulpher Yellow, Golden Yellow, Citrine.

Showa era

Olive Ocher & Orange +1

Plate 149 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Olive Ocher, Orange, Deep Slate Green.

Showa era

Lemon Yellow & Cinnamon Rufous +1

Plate 158 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Lemon Yellow, Cinnamon Rufous, Night Green.

Showa era

Sulphine Yellow & Pale Raw Umber +1

Plate 160 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Pale Raw Umber, Dark Medici Blue.

Showa era

Lemon Yellow & Vandar Poel's Blue +1

Plate 168 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Lemon Yellow, Vandar Poel's Blue, Veronia Purple.

Showa era

Lemon Yellow & Madder Brown +1

Plate 173 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Lemon Yellow, Madder Brown, Turquoise Green.

Showa era

Ivory Buff & English Red +1

Plate 190 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, English Red, Black.

Showa era

Cream Yellow & Vandyke Brown +1

Plate 192 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cream Yellow, Vandyke Brown, Deep Violet / Plumbeous.

Showa era

Pale Lemon Yellow & Vinaceous Cinnamon +1

Plate 203 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale Lemon Yellow, Vinaceous Cinnamon, Lincoln Green.

Showa era

Ivory Buff & Sudan Brown +1

Plate 214 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, Sudan Brown, Violet.

Showa era

Yellow Ocher & Yellow Orange +1

Plate 222 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Yellow Ocher, Yellow Orange, Orange Rufous.

Showa era

Khaki & Deep Lyons Blue +1

Plate 236 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Khaki, Deep Lyons Blue, Purple Drab.

Embed this collection

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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.

Summer Color Palettes

Share this collection

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗

Valerian Yellow & Pale Blue— 女郎花と浅葱

Turmeric & Indigo— 鬱金と藍

Light Pink & Tea— 薄紅と茶

Pink Dianthus & Water— 撫子と水色

Cherry Blossom & Young Bamboo— 桜と若竹

Sky Blue & Vermillion— 空と朱

Sepia & Veronia Purple

Ivory Buff & Orange Rufous

Naples Yellow & Peach Red

Yellow Ocher & Vandyke Brown

Sulpher Yellow & Golden Yellow +1

Olive Ocher & Orange +1

Lemon Yellow & Cinnamon Rufous +1

Sulphine Yellow & Pale Raw Umber +1

Lemon Yellow & Vandar Poel's Blue +1

Lemon Yellow & Madder Brown +1

Ivory Buff & English Red +1

Cream Yellow & Vandyke Brown +1

Pale Lemon Yellow & Vinaceous Cinnamon +1

Ivory Buff & Sudan Brown +1

Yellow Ocher & Yellow Orange +1

Khaki & Deep Lyons Blue +1

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?