Edo era
Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠
The cool Edo purple worn by kabuki actors against mouse grey — theatrical understatement.
#8A8A8A
neutral · 1 palette
Nezumi
鼠
Mouse grey
Most colors in this archive come from one 1933 book. Get Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary on Amazon → Affiliate link; your price is unchanged. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
About Nezumi
Nezumi (鼠) is a mid-tone, near-neutral neutral tone. Its hex value is #8A8A8A — that is
RGB 138, 138, 138, or HSL 0°, 0%, 54%.
Mouse grey.
It holds 6.1:1 contrast against dark, so Nezumi works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 3.5:1; on black 6.1:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Nezumi appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Edo-murasaki, Sumi and Kinari.
Colours that go with Nezumi
As a mid-tone near-neutral, Nezumi sits comfortably beside almost any accent — the schemes below show the subtle, reliable pairings from a standard colour wheel.
Complementary
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Nezumi
Nezumi is a mid-tone, near-neutral tone (HSL 0°, 0%, 54%), 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 (6.1:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use dark lettering. Pair it with its complement (#8A8A8A) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#8A8A8A and #8A8A8A) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Nezumi off the screen
A hex code is an instruction to a screen, not a colour. Where this one is going decides what it needs next.
Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
-
...onto paper
Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.
Listed on Amazon as Pantone GP6102B Color Bridge Guide Set Coated & Uncoated, Multi-Colour
See price on AmazonView on Amazon -
...onto a screen you can trust
Start here if it stays digital. An uncalibrated monitor is the single most common reason a palette that looked right on your desk looks wrong everywhere else.
Calibrite
ColorChecker Studio spectrophotometer
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Studio Spectrophotometer for Complete Color Management for Display, Projector, Printer and Scanner Profiling
See price on AmazonView on Amazon -
...by hand
Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.
Kuretake
Gansai Tambi 24 — Art Nouveau
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau
See price on AmazonView on Amazon
Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Palettes with Nezumi
Nezumi appears in 1 combination from the archive. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Nezumi
- What is the hex code for Nezumi?
- Nezumi (鼠) is #8A8A8A. Mouse grey It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Nezumi look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Nezumi (#8A8A8A) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 3.45:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 6.08:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Nezumi come from?
- Nezumi is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued neutral pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Nezumi in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#8A8A8A) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.
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 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — 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.