What 348 plates of Sanzo Wada's 1933 color dictionary reveal about 1930s design taste
A Figures Bureau study · Last verified 2026-07-16 · every number recomputed at build time
We ran the numbers on every combination in the community reconstruction of Sanzo Wada's 1933 A Dictionary of Color Combinations. The result is a portrait of a color world that was overwhelmingly warm — the opposite of the cool-neutral minimalism that defines 2020s design.
Every figure below is computed directly from the dataset. Last recomputed at build. Methodology →
The headline findings
- Wada's world was overwhelmingly warm. Of the 348 combinations, 320 (92%) are anchored by red, yellow, or orange — red leads with 163 plates (47%), then yellow (87) and orange (70). Cool colors are the striking minority: blue anchors just 13 (4%), green only 5.
- The structure is deliberate. The 348 plates split almost perfectly by size — 120 2-color, 120 3-color, 108 4-color combinations across the six volumes.
- Black is the most-used single color — it appears in 23 of 348 plates, more than any individual hue, acting as the contrast anchor inside an otherwise warm palette.
- "Refined" and "warm" define the mood. Across the tagged moods, refined appears on 296 plates and warm on 263 — a manual of restrained, warm elegance.
- The cool, serene palette barely exists. Serene (19) and blue/green-dominant plates sit at the far tail — Wada's 1933 taste was warm where ours is cool.
Dominant-hue distribution
Warm hues in warm swatches, cool hues in cool. Share of all 348 plates.
Most-used individual colors (across all 348 plates)
| # | Color | Swatch | Plates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | #111314 | 23 |
| 2 | Raw Sienna | #bb7125 | 19 |
| 3 | Pale Lemon Yellow | #ffefae | 19 |
| 4 | Sulpher Yellow | #f5ecc2 | 18 |
| 5 | Ivory Buff | #ebd3a2 | 16 |
| 6 | Turquoise Green | #b5decc | 16 |
| 7 | Lemon Yellow | #f8ed43 | 15 |
| 8 | Yellow Orange | #f99d1b | 14 |
| 9 | Eosine Pink | #f37f94 | 14 |
| 10 | Cream Yellow | #fdbf68 | 14 |
| 11 | Slate Color | #34454c | 13 |
| 12 | Salvia Blue | #97acc8 | 13 |
Combination-size split
- 2-color: 120 plates (34%)
- 3-color: 120 plates (34%)
- 4-color: 108 plates (31%)
Mood frequency
- refined · 296
- warm · 263
- austere · 120
- bold · 108
- cool · 65
- solemn · 33
Download the data
The full computed analysis (hue distribution, most-used colors, size split, mood frequency) as a single CSV, plus the complete 348-plate dataset. Free, CORS-enabled, CC-BY-4.0.
- sanzo-wada-color-analysis.csv — this study's computed tables
- palettes.csv — all 348 plates (hex, names, hue, moods)
- Full data + API hub →
Related study: Can a 1933 color bible pass 2026 accessibility rules? — the same 348 plates tested against WCAG AA/AAA contrast.
Cite this study
<a href="https://colorcombinations.org/data/sanzo-wada-color-analysis/">Data Study: Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations</a>. The Dictionary of Color Combinations, colorcombinations.org. [Data Study: Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations](https://colorcombinations.org/data/sanzo-wada-color-analysis/). The Dictionary of Color Combinations, colorcombinations.org. [url]https://colorcombinations.org/data/sanzo-wada-color-analysis/[/url] — Data Study: Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, colorcombinations.org Methodology
Figures are computed directly from all 348 combinations in the community reconstruction of Sanzo Wada's 1933 A Dictionary of Color Combinations (mattdesl/dictionary-of-colour-combinations, MIT-licensed; individual hex values and color names are public-domain facts). "Dominant hue" and "mood" are the dataset's own classifications of each plate; "most-used color" counts a color name's appearances across all plates. This is a descriptive analysis of a historical document, not a claim about all 1930s design. Source book: Sanzo Wada, Haishoku Sōkan (配色総鑑), 1933, six volumes.
Data + analysis: colorcombinations.org, CC-BY-4.0. A Figures Bureau study. Explore the plates: collections · palettes.