Edo era
Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗
The bright gold of the kerria flower against the warm brown of roasted chestnut.
#F5B71C
yellow · 1 palette
Yamabuki
山吹
Kerria gold
About Yamabuki
Yamabuki (山吹) is a mid-tone, vivid yellow tone. Its hex value is #F5B71C — that is
RGB 245, 183, 28, or HSL 43°, 92%, 54%.
Kerria gold.
It holds 11.7:1 contrast against dark, so Yamabuki works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 1.8:1; on black 11.7:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Yamabuki appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Kuri and Kinari.
The story of Yamabuki
Yamabuki (山吹) is the saturated golden-yellow of the Japanese kerria flower — a bright spring-blooming shrub whose colour gave its name to one of the canonical Heian seasonal palettes. The colour reads sun-on-petals rather than citrus: it has the deep gold undertone that pure yellow lacks, and the soft warmth that prevents it from reading as institutional.
Yamabuki was historically associated with prosperity (the flower blooms in late spring, after winter scarcity ends) and was a popular layering colour in the kasane-no-irome tradition. Modern usage: hospitality, premium food packaging, seasonal-rotation brand systems, anywhere a 'warm spring yellow' reads better than 'corporate yellow.'
Working note: Pairs canonically with deep evergreen (the spring-blossom-against-pine combination) or with sumi black (the Edo-textile gold-on-ink pairing). Both reverse the institutional-yellow trap.
Colours that go with Yamabuki
From a standard colour wheel, Yamabuki anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#F5B71C #1C5AF5
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#F5B71C #F54B1C #C6F51C
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#F5B71C #1CF5B7 #B71CF5
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#F5B71C #1CC6F5 #4B1CF5
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Yamabuki
Yamabuki is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 43°, 92%, 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 (11.7:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use dark lettering. Pair it with its complement (#1C5AF5) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#F54B1C and #C6F51C) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Yamabuki
Yamabuki appears in 1 combination from the archive.
From the archive
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