Edo era
Crimson Lake & Pine— 臙脂と松葉
The deep lake crimson of cochineal against pine needle green — winter evergreen.
#9E2B3D
red · 1 palette
Enji
臙脂
Crimson lake
About Enji
Enji (臙脂) is a deep, muted red tone. Its hex value is #9E2B3D — that is
RGB 158, 43, 61, or HSL 351°, 57%, 39%.
Crimson lake.
It holds 7.3:1 contrast against white, so Enji works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 7.3:1; on black 2.9:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Enji appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Matsuba, Kinari and Kogane.
Colours that go with Enji
From a standard colour wheel, Enji anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#9E2B3D #2B9E8C
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#9E2B3D #9E2B76 #9E532B
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#9E2B3D #3D9E2B #2B3D9E
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#9E2B3D #2B9E53 #2B769E
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Enji
Enji is a deep, muted tone (HSL 351°, 57%, 39%), 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 (7.3:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#2B9E8C) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#9E2B76 and #9E532B) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Enji
Enji 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.
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
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- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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