Edo era
Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱
The faded blue of Shinsengumi jackets against shrine-gate vermillion — restrained power.
#6B9BB0
blue · 2 palettes
Asagi
浅葱
Pale blue-green
About Asagi
Asagi (浅葱) is a mid-tone, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #6B9BB0 — that is
RGB 107, 155, 176, or HSL 198°, 30%, 55%.
Pale blue-green.
It holds 6.9:1 contrast against dark, so Asagi works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 3.0:1; on black 6.9:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Asagi appears in 2 combinations — most often paired with Shu, Gofun and Sumi.
The story of Asagi
Asagi (浅葱) is the pale green-blue of young leek shoots — literally 'shallow leek' — and one of the named colours that appears most consistently across Wada's catalogue. It sits between sky-blue and pale celadon, with enough green to read as fresh rather than cool, and enough blue to read as bright rather than vegetal. Historically it was used for under-robes in summer kimonos and for low-rank samurai garments (specifically the Shinsengumi uniform haori in mid-19th century Kyoto).
Modern usage: hospitality, wellness, summer-season editorial, beauty packaging — anywhere a 'fresh cool' reads better than 'cold cool.' Asagi is one of the colours that lets a Japandi or wabi-sabi palette feel vital instead of austere.
See Asagi in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Asagi
From a standard colour wheel, Asagi anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#6B9BB0 #B0806B
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#6B9BB0 #6BB0A3 #6B79B0
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#6B9BB0 #B06B9B #9BB06B
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#6B9BB0 #B06B79 #B0A36B
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Asagi
Asagi is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 198°, 30%, 55%), 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 (6.9:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#B0806B) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#6BB0A3 and #6B79B0) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Asagi
Asagi appears in 2 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
From the archive
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- All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
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