Showa era
Sulphine Yellow & Turquoise Green
Plate 36 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Turquoise Green.
#c19f2c
yellow · 5 palettes
Sulphine Yellow
About Sulphine Yellow
Sulphine Yellow is a mid-tone, vivid yellow tone. Its hex value is #c19f2c — that is
RGB 193, 159, 44, or HSL 46°, 63%, 46%.
It holds 8.3:1 contrast against dark, so Sulphine Yellow works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.5:1; on black 8.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Sulphine Yellow appears in 5 combinations — most often paired with Turquoise Green, Calamine BLue and Hydrangea Red.
Colours that go with Sulphine Yellow
From a standard colour wheel, Sulphine Yellow anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#c19f2c #2C4EC1
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#c19f2c #C1542C #98C12C
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#c19f2c #2CC19F #9F2CC1
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#c19f2c #2C98C1 #542CC1
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Sulphine Yellow
Sulphine Yellow is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 46°, 63%, 46%), 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 (8.3:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#2C4EC1) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#C1542C and #98C12C) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Sulphine Yellow 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.
-
...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
View 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
View 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
View 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 Sulphine Yellow
Sulphine Yellow appears in 5 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Sulphine Yellow
- What is the hex code for Sulphine Yellow?
- Sulphine Yellow is #c19f2c. It appears in 5 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Sulphine Yellow look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Sulphine Yellow (#c19f2c) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.54:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 8.26:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Sulphine Yellow come from?
- Sulphine Yellow is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued yellow pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Sulphine Yellow in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#c19f2c) 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 museum SVG plates — 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.