What is the hex code for Matsuba?

Matsuba (松葉) is #4C5D3F. Pine needle dark It appears in 3 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".

What does Matsuba look like on white and black backgrounds?

Matsuba (#4C5D3F) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 7.13:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.94:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

Where does the color Matsuba come from?

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

Can I use Matsuba in my own design or brand?

Yes. The color name and hex value (#4C5D3F) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

#4C5D3F

green · 3 palettes

Matsuba

松葉

Pine needle dark

About Matsuba

Matsuba (松葉) is a deep, near-neutral green tone. Its hex value is #4C5D3F — that is RGB 76, 93, 63, or HSL 94°, 19%, 31%. Pine needle dark.

It holds 7.1:1 contrast against white, so Matsuba works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 7.1:1; on black 2.9:1.)

Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Matsuba appears in 3 combinations — most often paired with Kinari, Sakura and Wakatake.

Palettes with Matsuba

Matsuba appears in 3 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.

Heian era

Cherry Blossom & Young Bamboo— 桜と若竹

The softest pink of cherry blossoms set beside young bamboo green — spring, captured.

Muromachi era

Celadon & Unbleached— 青磁と生成

Celadon pottery green beside the unbleached warmth of raw silk.

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 Matsuba 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/matsuba/" width="360" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border-radius:8px;overflow:hidden;" title="Matsuba (松葉) — 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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