Showa era
Old Rose & White
Plate 55 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Old Rose, White.
neutral · 1 palette
White is a light, near-neutral neutral tone. Its hex value is #ffffff — that is
RGB 255, 255, 255, or HSL 0°, 0%, 100%.
It holds 21.0:1 contrast against dark, so White works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 1.0:1; on black 21.0:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, White appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Old Rose.
As a light near-neutral, White sits comfortably beside almost any accent — the schemes below show the subtle, reliable pairings from a standard colour wheel.
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
White is a light, near-neutral tone (HSL 0°, 0%, 100%), which makes it a soft background or a light accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (21.0:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use dark lettering. Pair it with its complement (#FFFFFF) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#FFFFFF and #FFFFFF) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
White appears in 1 combination from the archive.
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