42 named colors · 20 combinations

Blue Color Combinations.

Indigo, navy, and sky blue pairings from the Wada catalog. Kon (deep indigo) is the most storied Japanese blue — once expensive as lapis lazuli, now synonymous with Japan's textile heritage. Ai-iro (indigo blue) and noshime (dark indigo) complete the spectrum.

Named colors

42 blue colors in the archive.

Combinations

20 blue-dominant color combinations.

Every palette in the archive where blue is the dominant hue — from Sanzo Wada's 348 historical plates plus editorial deep-dives.

Edo era

Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱

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

Kamakura era

Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉

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

Heian era

Lapis & Chalk— 瑠璃と胡粉

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

Heian era

Ao & White— 青と白

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

Edo era

Sky Blue & Vermillion— 空と朱

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

Edo era

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

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

Meiji era

Deep Indigo & Cream— 紺と生成

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

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

Olympic Blue & Dark Tyrian Blue

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

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.

Showa era

Salvia Blue & Deep Indigo +1

Plate 139 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Salvia Blue, Deep Indigo, Neutral Gray.

Showa era

Blue & Lilac +1

Plate 143 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Blue, Lilac, Warm Gray.

Showa era

Helvetia Blue & Grayish Lavender - B +1

Plate 187 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Helvetia Blue, Grayish Lavender - B, Aconite Violet.

Showa era

Helvetia Blue & Grayish Lavender - A +1

Plate 218 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Helvetia Blue, Grayish Lavender - A, Deep Violet / Plumbeous.

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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