What is the hex code for Kogane?

Kogane (黄金) is #C5AC6B. Gold leaf It appears in 5 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".

What does Kogane look like on white and black backgrounds?

Kogane (#C5AC6B) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.21:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 9.49:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

Where does the color Kogane come from?

Kogane is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued brown pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.

Can I use Kogane in my own design or brand?

Yes. The color name and hex value (#C5AC6B) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

#C5AC6B

brown · 5 palettes

Kogane

黄金

Gold leaf

About Kogane

Kogane (黄金) is a mid-tone, muted brown tone. Its hex value is #C5AC6B — that is RGB 197, 172, 107, or HSL 43°, 44%, 60%. Gold leaf.

It holds 9.5:1 contrast against dark, so Kogane works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.2:1; on black 9.5:1.)

Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Kogane appears in 5 combinations — most often paired with Kogane, Gofun and Gunjō.

Palettes with Kogane

Kogane appears in 5 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.

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.

Kamakura era

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

The dense orange-red of lead oxide pigment struck against ink black.

Edo era

Kite Brown & Gold— 鳶と黄金

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

Edo era

Crimson Lake & Pine— 臙脂と松葉

The deep lake crimson of cochineal against pine needle green — winter evergreen.

Embed this color

Drop a Kogane swatch card into any blog post, design review, or color-study reference page. Links back to this color's detail.

<iframe src="https://colorcombinations.org/embed/colors/kogane/" width="360" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border-radius:8px;overflow:hidden;" title="Kogane (黄金) — colorcombinations.org"></iframe>

Preview

From the archive

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All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
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Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues

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