What is in the "Winter Color Palettes" collection?

Winter Color Palettes is a curated collection of 17 historical color palettes from Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933). Deep indigo, ink black, frost white — the quietest register of the Japanese year.

Can I embed or share the "Winter 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 "Winter 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 · 17 palettes

Winter Color Palettes

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

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

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.

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

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Preview

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.

Winter Color Palettes

Share this collection

Deep Indigo & Cream— 紺と生成

Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉

Royal Purple & Silver— 紫と銀

Ao & White— 青と白

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

Spring Green & Ink— 萌黄と墨

Benzol Green & Grayish Lavender - A

Calamine BLue & Laelia Pink

Light Porcelain Green & Olympic Blue

Pale King's Blue & Blue

Benzol Green & Light Glaucous Blue

Grayish Lavender - B & Violet

Olympic Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

Warm Gray & Black

Pale King's Blue & Violet Blue

Antwarp Blue & Dull Violet Black

Light Glaucous Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

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

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