Want the printed book? It has no ebook edition. What is free, and what isn't
| What you want | Free? |
|---|---|
| All 348 combinations of the English edition, with hex, RGB and CMYK | Yes, on this site |
| The same combinations as a spreadsheet | Yes, CSV download |
| Wada's original 1930s volumes (Haishoku Soukan), scanned page by page | Yes, at Japan's National Diet Library |
| Seigensha's English edition (2010) as a PDF or ebook | Does not exist. Print only |
| Vol. 2 (Seigensha, 2020) | Print only; not in this archive |
Why there is no official PDF
The book people mean is Seigensha's A Dictionary of Color Combinations, published in Kyoto in 2010. Seigensha sells it as a small printed book and has never released a PDF, Kindle or other ebook edition; we searched for one and found none. Wada died in 1967 and his own 1930s volumes are out of copyright, but the 2010 edition is a new book: its layout, its English text and its design belong to the publisher. The PDFs on file-sharing and document sites are scans of that print edition, made without permission. We do not link to them.
The original is free, at Japan's national library
The 2010 book is a selection from Wada's own work, Haishoku Soukan (配色総鑑), which the Tokyo publisher Hakubisha issued in parts from 1933, with reprints and further series into 1935. Japan's National Diet Library has scanned dozens of those parts and shows them free online to anyone, no account needed:
- All digitised parts (search for 配色総鑑 in the NDL Digital Collections)
- Volume 1 (1933)
- Series A, part 1 (reprint)
- Series B, parts 1 and 2: the color schemes for January and February (1935)
- Wada's own guide to using it (1934)
The captions are in Japanese, but the plates are the point and they need no translation. These are scans of 90-year-old printing, so the colors have aged; for exact values, use the hex codes in this archive instead.
Every combination of the English edition, free here
All 348 combinations of the 2010 edition are on this site, each with hex, RGB and CMYK values you can copy: browse them by color, mood or number. The full set downloads as a spreadsheet from the data page (CSV, free to reuse with credit). The digitised color values come from Matt DesLauriers' open data set, credited on our copyright page.
When the printed book is worth it
If you only want the colors, you already have them. People buy Vol. 1 for the object itself: the matte plates, the small Japanese binding, and a copy they can cite. Vol. 2 (Seigensha, 2020) is different: its 72 seasonal plates from 1935–36 and 165 plates from 1938 fashion, interior and graphic design are not in this archive, so the book is the only tidy way to have them. How the two volumes differ.
Questions people ask
Is there an official PDF of A Dictionary of Color Combinations?
No. Seigensha publishes the English edition only in print, and we found no ebook or Kindle edition. PDF files offered on file-sharing sites are scans of that copyrighted print edition, made without the publisher's permission.
Can I read Sanzo Wada's original book for free?
Yes. Japan's National Diet Library has scanned the 1930s volumes of Haishoku Soukan (配色総鑑) and shows them free online to anyone. The pages are in Japanese, but the color plates need no translation.
Where can I get the color combinations without buying the book?
Every one of the 348 combinations in the English edition is on this site, each with hex, RGB and CMYK values, and the whole set downloads as a CSV from the data page.
Is the book worth buying if the colors are free?
Only for the printed object: the matte plates, the small Japanese binding, a citable copy. If you want plates you cannot already see here, Vol. 2 is the better buy, because none of its plates are in this archive.
— colorcombinations.org editorial
Library
The two Wada books in print
Vol. 1 holds the combinations you can browse free here. Vol. 2 holds plates you can't.
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Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.