Collection · 17 palettes

Winter Color Palettes

Deep indigo, ink black, frost white — the quietest register of the Japanese year.

Winter in the Japanese palette is not the white-and-silver of Scandinavian design — it is the layered stillness of ink-on-paper: deep kon indigo, sumi black, cold gofun white, the blue-grey of stone lanterns under frost. Where spring is blush and summer is warmth, winter is restraint taken to its furthest point. These combinations work for premium fashion editorial, high-end architectural identity, technology brands that want authority, and any design that should feel considered and unhurried.

Meiji era

Deep Indigo & Cream— 紺と生成

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

Kamakura era

Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉

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

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.

Edo era

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

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

Kamakura era

Spring Green & Ink— 萌黄と墨

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

Showa era

Benzol Green & Grayish Lavender - A

Plate 15 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Benzol Green, Grayish Lavender - A.

Showa era

Calamine BLue & Laelia Pink

Plate 20 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Calamine BLue, Laelia Pink.

Showa era

Light Porcelain Green & Olympic Blue

Plate 44 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Porcelain Green, Olympic Blue.

Showa era

Pale King's Blue & Blue

Plate 49 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale King's Blue, Blue.

Showa era

Benzol Green & Light Glaucous Blue

Plate 54 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Benzol Green, Light Glaucous Blue.

Showa era

Grayish Lavender - B & Violet

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

Showa era

Olympic Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

Plate 67 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Olympic Blue, Dark Tyrian Blue.

Showa era

Warm Gray & Black

Plate 69 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Warm Gray, Black.

Showa era

Pale King's Blue & Violet Blue

Plate 75 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale King's Blue, Violet Blue.

Showa era

Antwarp Blue & Dull Violet Black

Plate 106 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Antwarp Blue, Dull Violet Black.

Showa era

Light Glaucous Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

Plate 119 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Glaucous Blue, 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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