Heian era
Crimson & Navy— 紅と紺
Deep safflower crimson against navy — the courtly contrast of Heian-era robes and formal Edo textiles.
Sanzo Wada, 1933 — the complete dictionary
All 348 historical color combinations, free for working designers.
The complete catalog of Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — every plate, every hex value, every pairing — plus 30 editorial deep-dives rooted in traditional Japanese shikisai. Free to browse, copy, and export.
Want the original? Get Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary on Amazon → — affiliate link; your price unchanged, small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Editorial picks
Eight palettes to start with.
A cross-section of the editorial set — from Heian court crimson to Edo merchant indigo — chosen because they work in real design projects today. The full 348-plate Wada catalog waits behind the browse button.
Browse by theme
Palettes for every creative purpose.
Seventeen curated collections — from website palettes to sunset colors to the full Heian tradition. Every combination drawn from the same 378-plate archive.
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Color Palettes for Websites
Historically-grounded palettes that read well on screens at any scale.
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Color Palettes for Branding
Combinations with the gravitas to carry a brand — not just a moodboard.
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Autumn Color Palettes
Fallen leaves, persimmons, burnt umber, late harvest.
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Summer Color Palettes
Bright yellows, warm oranges, playful pinks — the colors of light.
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Green Color Palettes
Young bamboo, matcha, celadon — the green continuum of Japanese craft.
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Minimalist Color Palettes
When two colors will do the work of five.
How to use this
Built for the way designers actually work.
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Browse the full catalog
Every plate from Wada's 1933 dictionary, plus editorial picks. Filter by era, hue, or mood — no login, no rate limit.
02
Copy the format you need
Hex codes, Tailwind config, CSS variables, or raw JSON. One click, no signup.
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Build with history
Every combination documented, numbered, and traceable back to its place in the original six-volume work.
Learn
Working guides for designers.
Long-form articles on color theory, palette use, and the Japanese tradition behind the dictionary. Each piece links to specific palettes you can drop into a project today.
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Color theory · 5 min
Heian Court Color Theory
How the Heian imperial court systematised colour into layered-robe combinations, forbidden pigments, and a 12-month seasonal calendar.
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Color theory · 5 min
The Four Reds: Kurenai, Akane, Shu, Entan
Why the tradition distinguishes safflower crimson from madder from vermilion from lead red — and which to reach for when the brief asks for "a Japanese red."
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Color theory · 5 min
Wabi-Sabi Color Theory
What it actually means for color when a tradition values age over newness, asymmetry over balance, and imperfection over polish.
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Color theory · 5 min
Japandi Color Theory
How Japanese and Scandinavian traditions converge — and which palettes from the Wada dictionary actually fit the Japandi brief.
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Color theory · 5 min
Scandinavian Color Theory
What Scandinavian color is beyond IKEA-white — Nordic modernism, the hygge divergence, and which palettes from the dictionary actually fit.
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Reference · 12 min
Japanese Color Glossary
Twenty traditional named colours — kurenai, akane, ai, murasaki, seiji, gofun, tobi, sumi, yamabuki, kon and more — with pigment origin and modern usage. Anchored.
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.
Newsletter
One palette a week. No spam, ever.
Every Sunday: one combination, one era, one short story. Unsubscribe any time.
Free. No credit card. Archive stays readable forever.
Library
Go deeper on colour
The books we return to on colour theory and the language of palettes. Recommended on Amazon.
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.