Edo era
Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱
The faded blue of Shinsengumi jackets against shrine-gate vermillion — restrained power.
#D8453A
red · 3 palettes
Shu
朱
Shrine vermillion
About Shu
Shu (朱) is a mid-tone, vivid red tone. Its hex value is #D8453A — that is
RGB 216, 69, 58, or HSL 4°, 67%, 54%.
Shrine vermillion.
It holds 4.8:1 contrast against dark, so Shu works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 4.3:1; on black 4.8:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Shu appears in 3 combinations — most often paired with Gofun, Asagi and Sumi.
The story of Shu
Shu (朱) is the bright orange-red of cinnabar pigment — mercury sulfide ground to powder and bound in lacquer. It's a mineral, not a dye, which gives it a luminous, almost glowing quality that no purely-red pigment can match. Shu is the colour of Shinto torii gates, temple pillars, ceremonial bowls, and the lacquerware traditions of Wajima and Kyoto.
Culturally it carries a completely different register from the textile reds: shu signals the sacred, the threshold, and the protective. The red lacquer on a temple gate is not decoration — it is a colour with apotropaic function. In contemporary design it works for hospitality, religious or wellness brands, and any project that needs to feel 'doorway' or 'entrance.'
Working note: Three-colour palette: shu, ink-black (sumi), and gold leaf — the temple-architecture combination. Reads as ceremonial without reading as tourist.
Colours that go with Shu
From a standard colour wheel, Shu anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#D8453A #3ACDD8
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#D8453A #D83A7E #D8943A
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#D8453A #3AD845 #453AD8
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#D8453A #3AD894 #3A7ED8
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Shu
Shu is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 4°, 67%, 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 (4.8:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#3ACDD8) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#D83A7E and #D8943A) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Shu
Shu appears in 3 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.
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
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- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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