Collection · 24 palettes

Color Palettes for Websites

Historically-grounded palettes that read well on screens at any scale.

A curated shortlist of combinations that work on the web without compromise. Strong enough contrast for body text, warm enough for hero sections, restrained enough to avoid the tech-bro gradient look. Every palette comes with hex values, Tailwind config, and CSS variables — drop them into any project.

Heian era

Crimson & Navy— 紅と紺

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

Edo era

Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱

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

Muromachi era

Celadon & Unbleached— 青磁と生成

Celadon pottery green beside the unbleached warmth of raw silk.

Edo era

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

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

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.

Heian era

Royal Purple & Silver— 紫と銀

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

Heian era

Ao & White— 青と白

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

Meiji era

Deep Indigo & Cream— 紺と生成

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

Heian era

Cherry Blossom & Young Bamboo— 桜と若竹

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

Kamakura era

Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉

The deep ultramarine of Buddhist mineral pigment against temple chalk white.

Kamakura era

Spring Green & Ink— 萌黄と墨

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

Heian era

Lapis & Chalk— 瑠璃と胡粉

Lapis lazuli blue against oyster-shell white — the color of Buddhist scripture.

Heian era

Pink Dianthus & Water— 撫子と水色

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

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

Wisteria & Indigo— 藤と藍

The soft lavender of wisteria blossoms against deep indigo.

Edo era

Kite Brown & Gold— 鳶と黄金

The warm brown of a kite's wing lit by afternoon gold.

Muromachi era

Bellflower & Ink— 桔梗と墨

The deep violet of the bellflower set against ink — formal, discreet.

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.

Muromachi era

Scorched Brown & Unbleached— 焦茶と生成

The dark brown of scorched wood against unbleached hemp — quiet materials.

Edo era

Sky Blue & Vermillion— 空と朱

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

Heian era

Valerian Yellow & Pale Blue— 女郎花と浅葱

The yellow of autumn valerian against late-summer sky.

Edo era

Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠

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

Showa era

English Red & Cerulian Blue

Plate 1 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — English Red, Cerulian Blue.

Showa era

Yellow Orange & Dark Tyrian Blue

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