What is the hex code for Edo-murasaki?

Edo-murasaki (江戸紫) is #5E4A8C. Edo purple It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".

What does Edo-murasaki look like on white and black backgrounds?

Edo-murasaki (#5E4A8C) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 7.41:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.83:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

Where does the color Edo-murasaki come from?

Edo-murasaki is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued blue pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.

Can I use Edo-murasaki in my own design or brand?

Yes. The color name and hex value (#5E4A8C) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

#5E4A8C

blue · 1 palette

Edo-murasaki

江戸紫

Edo purple

About Edo-murasaki

Edo-murasaki (江戸紫) is a mid-tone, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #5E4A8C — that is RGB 94, 74, 140, or HSL 258°, 31%, 42%. Edo purple.

It holds 7.4:1 contrast against white, so Edo-murasaki works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 7.4:1; on black 2.8:1.)

Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Edo-murasaki appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Nezumi, Sumi and Kinari.

Colours that go with Edo-murasaki

From a standard colour wheel, Edo-murasaki anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.

Complementary

#5E4A8C #788C4A

the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.

Analogous

#5E4A8C #4A578C #7F4A8C

the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.

Triadic

#5E4A8C #8C5E4A #4A8C5E

two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.

Split-complementary

#5E4A8C #8C7F4A #578C4A

the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.

How to use Edo-murasaki

Edo-murasaki is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 258°, 31%, 42%), which makes it a versatile mid-tone for accents, buttons or blocks. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (7.4:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#788C4A) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#4A578C and #7F4A8C) for a quieter, harmonious feel.

Studio

Taking Edo-murasaki off the screen

A hex code is an instruction to a screen, not a colour. Where this one is going decides what it needs next.

Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

...onto paper

Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.

Pantone

Color Bridge Guide Set — coated & uncoated

Listed on Amazon as Pantone GP6102B Color Bridge Guide Set Coated & Uncoated, Multi-Colour
See price on Amazon
...onto a screen you can trust

Start here if it stays digital. An uncalibrated monitor is the single most common reason a palette that looked right on your desk looks wrong everywhere else.

Calibrite

ColorChecker Studio spectrophotometer

Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Studio Spectrophotometer for Complete Color Management for Display, Projector, Printer and Scanner Profiling
See price on Amazon
...by hand

Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.

Kuretake

Gansai Tambi 24 — Art Nouveau

Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau
See price on Amazon

Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Palettes with Edo-murasaki

Edo-murasaki appears in 1 combination from the archive. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.

Edo era

Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠

The cool Edo purple worn by kabuki actors against mouse grey — theatrical understatement.

Specifications

Hex: #5E4A8C
RGB: 94, 74, 140
HSL: 258°, 31%, 42%
CMYK approx.: 33%, 47%, 0%, 45%
OKLCH: 46.1% 0.1057 295.95
Hue family: blue
On white: 7.4:1 AA
On black: 2.8:1 decorative
Palettes: 1

Quick copy

Library

Go deeper on colour

The books behind a colour like Edo-murasaki — theory, history and reference designers keep close.

Jim Krause

Color Index XL

Watson-Guptill, 2017.

1,100+ ready-to-apply palettes with CMYK + RGB formulas. The shelf-reference designers reach for on deadline.

See price on Amazon More about this book
David Scott Kastan with Stephen Farthing

On Color

Yale University Press, 2018.

Ten essays — one per color — pairing cultural history with how each pigment came to mean what it does. A good companion to Victoria Finlay's Color, also on this shelf.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Patrick Baty

The Anatomy of Color

Thames & Hudson, 2017.

The story of paint and pigment in interiors from 1650 to 1960 — 600 historical swatches with provenance. The architectural-history companion to Wada's plates.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Sanzo Wada

A Dictionary of Color Combinations

The 2010 Seigensha republication of the 1933 original. Japanese import.

Every combination in it is already browsable free here, hex values and all. Buy this one for the object rather than the data — Seigensha's matte plates and Japanese binding, or a citable copy of the 1933 original. If you want plates this archive doesn't have, Vol. 2 is the one.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Sanzo Wada

A Dictionary of Color Combinations Vol. 2

Seigensha, 2020. Japanese import.

Wada's 1935–1938 follow-ups: 72 plates on the Japanese seasons and 165 drawn from early-century fashion, interior, and graphic design. Not in Vol. 1. Not in this archive. The book itself is a design object — Japanese binding, matte pages, zero captions.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Josef Albers

Interaction of Color

50th Anniversary Edition, Yale University Press.

The most important book on how colors behave next to each other. Still the default reference in art schools.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Kassia St. Clair

The Secret Lives of Color

Penguin, 2017.

Seventy-five individual colors, each with a short history. Reads like a cabinet of curiosities.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Victoria Finlay

Color: A Natural History of the Palette

Random House, 2004.

Investigative travelogue through dye sources — indigo farms, lapis mines, safflower fields. The journey of kurenai.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Stella Paul

Chromaphilia

Phaidon, 2017.

240 artworks organized by color. A visual counterpart to Wada's dictionary.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Sean Adams

The Designer's Dictionary of Color

Abrams, 2017.

A practical, example-filled guide to thirty key colors and the way they behave together. Working-designer companion to Wada's historical archive.

See price on Amazon More about this book
Leatrice Eiseman & Keith Recker

Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color

Chronicle Books, 2011.

A decade-by-decade visual history of color in design, advertising, and culture from 1900 to 2000. The modern complement to Wada's pre-war record.

See price on Amazon More about this book

Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →

Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Questions about Edo-murasaki

What is the hex code for Edo-murasaki?: Edo-murasaki (江戸紫) is #5E4A8C. Edo purple It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
What does Edo-murasaki look like on white and black backgrounds?: Edo-murasaki (#5E4A8C) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 7.41:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.83:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
Where does the color Edo-murasaki come from?: Edo-murasaki is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued blue pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
Can I use Edo-murasaki in my own design or brand?: Yes. The color name and hex value (#5E4A8C) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

Embed this color

Drop a Edo-murasaki swatch card into any blog post, design review, or color-study reference page. Links back to this color's detail.

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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)
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378 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — print-ready at any size
Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues

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