Edo era
Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱
The faded blue of Shinsengumi jackets against shrine-gate vermillion — restrained power.
#6B9BB0
blue · 2 palettes
Asagi
浅葱
Pale blue-green
About Asagi
Asagi (浅葱) is a mid-tone, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #6B9BB0 — that is
RGB 107, 155, 176, or HSL 198°, 30%, 55%.
Pale blue-green.
It holds 6.9:1 contrast against dark, so Asagi works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 3.0:1; on black 6.9:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Asagi appears in 2 combinations — most often paired with Shu, Gofun and Sumi.
The story of Asagi
Asagi (浅葱) is the pale green-blue of young leek shoots — literally 'shallow leek' — and one of the named colours that appears most consistently across Wada's catalogue. It sits between sky-blue and pale celadon, with enough green to read as fresh rather than cool, and enough blue to read as bright rather than vegetal. Historically it was used for under-robes in summer kimonos and for low-rank samurai garments (specifically the Shinsengumi uniform haori in mid-19th century Kyoto).
Modern usage: hospitality, wellness, summer-season editorial, beauty packaging — anywhere a 'fresh cool' reads better than 'cold cool.' Asagi is one of the colours that lets a Japandi or wabi-sabi palette feel vital instead of austere.
Colours that go with Asagi
From a standard colour wheel, Asagi anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#6B9BB0 #B0806B
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#6B9BB0 #6BB0A3 #6B79B0
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#6B9BB0 #B06B9B #9BB06B
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#6B9BB0 #B06B79 #B0A36B
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Asagi
Asagi is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 198°, 30%, 55%), which makes it a versatile mid-tone for accents, buttons or blocks. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (6.9:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#B0806B) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#6BB0A3 and #6B79B0) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Asagi
Asagi appears in 2 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.
From the archive
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