Kamakura era
Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉
The deep ultramarine of Buddhist mineral pigment against temple chalk white.
#264A6B
blue · 1 palette
Gunjō
群青
Ultramarine blue
About Gunjō
Gunjō (群青) is a deep, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #264A6B — that is
RGB 38, 74, 107, or HSL 209°, 48%, 28%.
Ultramarine blue.
It holds 9.2:1 contrast against white, so Gunjō works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 9.2:1; on black 2.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Gunjō appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Gofun and Kogane.
Colours that go with Gunjō
From a standard colour wheel, Gunjō anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#264A6B #6B4726
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#264A6B #266B69 #26286B
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#264A6B #6B264A #4A6B26
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#264A6B #6B2628 #6B6926
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Gunjō
Gunjō is a deep, muted tone (HSL 209°, 48%, 28%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (9.2:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#6B4726) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#266B69 and #26286B) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Gunjō
Gunjō 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
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